PATTAYA, THAILAND – The air in the room didn’t feel like a jury briefing. It felt like the moments before a massive raid, where everyone is checking their gear and waiting for the countdown. I wasn’t center stage. I was hunched over a notepad, my eyes darting across the rows of seated participants.
The In-Game Awards judging was in session
When Rey Tiempo, CCO of Co-Op Play and Game On, started putting this together, the goal was simple. He wanted to celebrate the creativity that lives specifically inside the game world. He was not looking for cinematic trailers or high-budget TV spots. He was hunting the hidden gems of the digital wilderness. These were the digital billboards in InFamous: Second Son, a faded advertisement plastered on the walls of a post-apocalyptic Raccoon City, cheeky window displays, and even a perfectly timed radio spot in GTA 5.
There was a genuine sense of curiosity as the sessions began. For years, these pieces of environmental storytelling were treated like background textures. But to a gamer, they are the landmarks that make a world feel real. Helping Rey bring this to life felt like we were finally opening a door that had been locked for the industry.
My job was grounded and tactical. I was helping Rey count the raised hands for the Gold, Silver, and Bronze trophies. It sounds simple, but watching those hands go up was an eye-opening experience. Every raised hand was a vote of confidence in a new frontier. There was a specific kind of excitement in watching the jurors lean in to discuss the art direction of a poster found in a virtual alleyway or the copywriting of a fictional in-game brand.
It was maximum fun. We weren’t just presenting. We were showing the participants that in the gaming world, creativity thrives in places they never thought to look. We were proving that the “In-Game” space isn’t just a gimmick. It is a vast, untapped canvas where brands can actually contribute to the immersion rather than breaking it.
By the time the final hands were counted and the last trophy was decided, that familiar feeling of a “Quest Complete” screen settled over me. We had successfully mounted recognition of in-game creativity. The map of what is possible in advertising had just expanded.
Walking out of that room, I realized we had done more than just hand out trophies. We had started a conversation. The “In-Game” world was no longer just a backdrop. It was a new frontier, and people were finally ready to play.
Here are some of the in-game ads awarded at the Live-Judging Session at ADFEST 2026:
BRONZE
SILVER
GOLD
