For ages, the relationship between ads and video games felt like they were speaking different languages. Advertisers saw games as big, shiny billboards, putting ads where they didn’t quite fit. Gamers, who were pretty wise to the ploy, simply ignored them, found ways around them, or called them out for feeling fake.
It was pretty obvious. Advertising was about numbers, reach, and impressions. Gaming was about fun, community, and being immersed in a world.
As gaming became massive, that gap couldn’t stay there forever. And this is where creative gaming came into play by using the rules of the game, the way people play, and the culture around gaming to get people’s attention and, hopefully, make them want to engage with the brand.
Asia is a diverse market with different gaming habits, preferences, and platforms. With over one and a half billion players, it’s also a huge market. In Southeast Asia, where mobile is king, people want experiences that work smoothly and don’t get in the way, especially when it comes to how they pay, play, and interact.
Brands need to stop asking how they can advertise to gamers and start asking how they can participate in gaming culture.
Across markets including China, Korea, and Southeast Asia, games like Valorant and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang are hugely popular. But gamers in these markets also know when a brand is simply trying to cash in. They want brand integrations that feel authentic and don’t mess with the game or the experience.
In Japan and Korea, where console gaming has a strong following, players are also deeply invested in stories, characters, and IP. A generic sponsorship can easily feel like just that, a sponsorship.
And then there are creators. On platforms like Twitch and TikTok, streamers have become part of the gaming culture themselves. They can take a brand message and turn it into something funny, relatable, and even meme-worthy. But only if brands give them enough room to be themselves.
So, clearly, a one-size-fits-all approach isn’t going to work.
The question is, “How can brands become part of gaming culture without becoming an interruption?”
I think the answer starts with understanding how gamers actually behave.
For mobile, particularly in Southeast Asia, the experience needs to be frictionless. If people are already using digital wallets and mobile platforms to play, pay, and interact, brands can build experiences around that behavior. Rewards, purchases, challenges, and other brand interactions should feel as easy as everything else on the phone.
For PC gaming, particularly across China, Korea, and Southeast Asia, brands need to respect the culture. Gamers know their games. They know when something feels forced. So rather than simply putting a logo into the environment, brands can look for ways to add something to the experience.
In esports, the opportunity is different. The excitement happens in real time. A clutch play, an unexpected win, a rivalry, or a funny moment can suddenly become the thing everyone is talking about.
Brands that can react quickly can become part of those moments instead of just sponsoring them.
Creators offer another way in.
Streamers have built relationships with their communities that brands can’t simply buy. Give them a script, and you might get an ad. Give them an idea and some freedom, and you might get something people actually want to watch and share.
The same goes for gaming communities. Discord servers, guilds, and other groups aren’t just databases of potential customers. They’re communities with their own language, inside jokes, and unwritten rules.
If a brand wants to enter, it needs to bring something useful, entertaining, or rewarding.
In other words, give something before asking for something.
For console gaming and the more IP-driven markets of Japan and Korea, brands can also think beyond sponsorship. If gamers are emotionally invested in a character, story, or game world, why not create something that adds to that world?
A product collaboration, an original story, an experience, a collectible, or even a piece of content can be much more meaningful than simply putting a logo beside the IP.
These may sound like very different approaches, but they all point to the same thing.
Brands need to stop asking how they can advertise to gamers and start asking how they can participate in gaming culture.
That means being frictionless on mobile by making the experience easy and rewarding. Be authentic on PC, by understanding the culture before trying to enter it. Go real-time in esports by being ready to play the moment. Be flexible with creators by letting them speak their own language. Show how a brand can be useful to communities and give people a reason to welcome you in. For IPs, create something worthy of the world you’re entering.
Closing the gap between gaming and marketing was the main reason behind the formation of Game On, a collective of passionate gamers who also happen to work in marketing and advertising.
It all began as a column in the industry that aimed to connect gaming and marketing, but it’s grown into a movement. This initiative led to the creation of the In-Game Ads Awards, a mini-award show that honors fictional ads for fictional brands that appear in game worlds like “Resident Evil Requiem,” judged by advertising creatives, marketers and industry leaders.
Game On also expanded into Asia after making its debut at ADFEST 2026, teaming up with Branding in Asia to launch Gaming in Asia, a content hub and weekly livestream series that’s all about gaming culture in Asia.
The move from traditional ads to interactive media is really on display in live streaming. It’s a different way of connecting with people.
While selling stuff in live streams is still about making a transaction, gaming streams are about being part of the action. The audience isn’t just watching. They’re commenting, voting, clipping, reacting and talking to each other in real time.
This is the reason why Game On will soon launch its livestream series housed on Branding in Asia’s YouTube channel.
For brands, this creates another opportunity to be part of what’s happening without stopping the fun. Marketers can join the conversation, react to new trends and memes, and respond to exciting moments as they happen.
But there’s a catch. Gamers can tell when you’re trying too hard.
That’s why creative gaming isn’t simply about finding new places to put advertising. It’s about finding ways for brands to fit naturally into something people already love.
To really succeed in modern creative strategy, brands need to go beyond just showing up in gaming. They need to earn their spot in the fun.
Because in gaming, the best brand experience may not feel like advertising at all.
It just feels like part of the game.
