Massive Incorporated is an advertising company that provides software and services to dynamically host advertisements within video games. Massive Incorporated was purchased by Microsoft in May 2006 for approximately $200 million to $400 million. The company is set to close by the end of 2010. The service, collectively known as The Massive Network, allows game developers to place advertisements within video games by providing a software development kit and servers to host advertisements to be streamed to clients when the game is played. The streaming of advertisements allows old... advertisements to be removed and more contextual ones applied in their place. Where games such as Need For Speed: Most Wanted had static advertisements for Cingular and Burger King, advertisements supplied by a streaming network allow more temporary ads such as movie or TV show posters. Both the publisher and Massive can then continue to make money after the game has been sold. The software is made so as to capture the proper demographic: it would be a problem to advertise an R-rated movie in an G-rated game or to place advertisements that conflict with a game's genre.
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