For years, gaming has sat in an odd place in the brand conversation: everywhere in culture, yet often treated as niche in media plans. That disconnect is finally starting to close – and according to Greg Carroll, general manager of Xbox Media Solutions, it’s long overdue.
Reflecting on the growing presence of gaming at CES, Carroll says: “There’s been a huge evolution in how gaming is perceived… It’s been really gratifying to see, after investing 10 years of my life and the company’s investment, how influential gaming is within the brand space. And brands having that ability to be a part of that evolution.”
What’s changed isn’t gaming itself but how clearly the industry is now seeing it. “Gaming has always been an intrinsic part of the culture of entertainment,” he says. “What we’re seeing now is people identifying and understanding how prevalent gaming is and how important gaming is to our day-to-day lives.”
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That shift in perception matters because gaming has quietly evolved far beyond its original transactional model. “The idea of buying a disc… and that’s the transaction over,” Carroll explains, has been replaced by “subscriptions, micro-transactions, different ways” to engage. As a result, gaming has become a living, evolving platform; one where brands can participate meaningfully, rather than interrupt.
Crucially, the old stereotypes no longer hold.“80% of the population tends to interact with gaming in some way or another,” says Carroll. From console and PC to mobile and gamified learning, the audience question has largely been settled.
Instead, the bigger misconception now sits elsewhere. “I think one of the biggest misperceptions is advertising within gaming,” he says – specifically the belief that players inherently dislike it. “The reality is people dislike bad advertising.”
For Xbox, protecting the player experience is non-negotiable. “What we want to make sure of is that we protect [our IP] and integrate advertising and messaging in a truly contextually relevant and authentic way,” says Carroll.
That’s where the idea of game-adjacent rather than in-game comes in. “You can support, you can reward, you can unlock experiences,” he says. “That’s actually more important and more authentic than trying to crowbar a brand into a game and break that magic circle.”
The opportunity is amplified by Xbox’s scale. As a “cross-platform enterprise,” Carroll notes, players engage “on multiple different devices, in multiple different ways, at different times of the day.” For brands, that opens up a far richer canvas – if they’re willing to rethink how they show up.
Partnership, he argues, is the difference-maker. “When gaming means so much to so many different people, it can be confusing,” he admits. But moving beyond “simplistic, always-on media opportunities” into deeper collaboration allows brands to build relevance rather than disruption.
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The imbalance, however, remains stark. “Gaming is bigger than film and music combined,” says Carroll, “and yet it receives maybe 5% of the investment from a brand perspective. It makes no sense.”
His message to marketers is clear: “Don’t be scared. Lean in, have those conversations and partner.” Because in a media landscape defined by participation, immersion and interactivity, gaming is one of the most powerful ecosystems brands can be part of.
Watch The Drum’s full conversation with Carroll at CES here as we unpack why gaming is evolving faster than brand investment, how Xbox thinks about game-adjacent advertising, and what ‘authentic’ really looks like inside one of the world’s biggest entertainment ecosystems.
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