Introduction

Ads in video games are a growing source of revenue for game publishers, with advertisers leveraging this platform to promote products and brands. According to Research Dive, the in-game advertising market is projected to generate over $13 million in revenue by 2028.

However, delivering these adverts can sometimes be intrusive, disrupting gameplay and interfering with user experience. Due to the centralized control of ad management, there are concerns related to fraud and limited transparency, including issues like fraudulent ad impressions and artificial traffic generation via bots.

Cros is building a decentralized in-game advertising infrastructure that is optimized with Artificial Intelligence and a Layer 2 chain on Ethereum for processing the necessary transactions transparently, all powered by the utility token $CROS.

What is Cros?

Source: Cros

Cros is a Web3 protocol for in-game advertising. It provides a decentralized platform for developers to monetize their games and advertisers access to billions of players across Mobile, PC, Console, and Gaming Metaverse platforms.

Cros prioritizes non-disruptive ads that are blended into gameplay, using in-game elements, such as banners, billboards, and interactive shops, creating a balanced advertising experience.

Cros adopts a blended and realistic approach to displaying ads in-game. Source: Cros

The current model of digital advertising in games presents several inefficiencies affecting publishers, advertisers, and consumers.

Source: Cros

This model uses a Demand-Side Platform (DSP) and a Supply-Side Platform (SSP).

1. Demand-Side Platform (DSP): Advertisers use DSPs to purchase ad spaces, selecting placements that align with their target audiences.
2. Supply-Side Platform (SSP): Publishers use SSPs to connect with multiple DSPs, allowing them to offer available ad placements for bidding.

While this structure may appear straightforward, the inclusion of multiple intermediaries creates a complex and opaque process, where revenue and data are centralized among ad management entities. This reduces the transparency of the entire advertising process.

Cros acts as a decentralized ad manager that bridges the gap between publishers seeking to monetize their games through ads and brands aiming to advertise products within a secure, transparent ecosystem.

Cros also plans to expand the value chain, to reward the gamer viewing the ad, and an opportunity for creators to use its Software Development Kits (SDKs) to create game-compatible ad-assets (NFTs) where they create in-game objects that can be used to display ads and create a source of income for them.

About The Team

Cros is built by personnel who have worked at Microsoft, Cisco, and other reputable companies. They have a vision of building an open advertising network connecting all gaming platforms.

Hussein Abdelkarim

Hussien is the founder of Cro and an experienced asset manager. He was previously a core team member at Rocket Internet, a renowned venture capital for tech companies.

Sachin Agrawal

Sachin is the co-founder of Cros. He is the Chief Technology Officer at Kaara, an IT consulting company based in India. He has previously served as an architect at Microsoft.

Vikranth P.

Vikranth is the Head of Product at Cros, managing Partnerships, Community Strategy, and Business Operations. He is an experienced product manager with over 15 years of experience, with a former role in leading tech company, Cisco.

Investors and Partnerships

Cros raised over $9M, with $5.4M coming from Venture Capitals; Thiel Capital, Zelwin Ventures, Emerge Capital, NxGen, BitsCrunch, Travala, CLS Global, and DWF Labs.

Source: Cros

Cros also raised $3.75M through public sale and has formed strategic partnerships with major gaming brands like Gameloft and Nintendo, and leading Web3 projects like Solana and Polygon.

Features

Ads Manager

The Ads Manager is a decentralized application (dApp) designed for publishers and advertisers as an interface tailored to each user type. Publishers use the Ads Manager to list available ad slots, including virtual spaces, game NPCs, avatars, or other interactive surfaces where media can be displayed for set durations. Advertisers upload ads to the platform and set configuration parameters, such as scheduling preferences, demographics, and geographic targeting.

Artificial Intelligence

Cros will deploy AI-powered features across different areas of the platform, with human guidance. Cros plans to integrate Generative AI-based tools to generate ad copy and designs, using only brand-related assets. AI will also automate scheduling, bidding, optimization, and real-time adjustments, scaling campaigns based on defined objectives and goals.

Layer 2 Chain

The Cros Layer 2 chain will process and execute ad-related transactions while submitting aggregated data of its most recent blocks to the main chain.

Note: An upcoming white paper will provide additional details about the Layer 2 chain.

SDKs and APIs

Cros offers creators and developers Software Development Kits (SDKs) to build innovative ad and brand engagement experiences across different game platforms. Cros also provides a modular set of open Application Program Interfaces (APIs) that allow users to connect to the platform, manage ad campaigns, and serve ads.

How Does Cros Work?

Cros is designed as an ecosystem where non-fungible ad assets, ad bids, auction formats, and ad impressions are stored on-chain. This setup enables transparent allocation and pricing of games and virtual worlds advertisements.

Cros’s backend is powered by multiple smart contracts written in Solidity and deployed on the Ethereum blockchain. These contracts manage the logic and rules of the ad-bidding platform, updating the blockchain with state changes as transactions occur.

Key elements of Cros operation include:

Composable NFTs for Ad Assets

Based on the ERC-998 token standard, these NFTs represent ad assets that store child tokens (ERC-721), tracking individual ad containers within games.

Data Storage via IPFS

IPFS serves as a decentralized storage solution for bids, ad slots, and media assets, using a peer-to-peer network to store and distribute data.

Microservices and APIs

The backend infrastructure includes APIs that provide off-chain functionality to support front-end applications.

Source: Cros

Ad Placement and Monetization

Advertisers upload ad content (audio, video, or static content) in a standard format to IPFS. Through the web interface, they define targeting parameters such as event settings, schedules, demographics, and geolocation, along with a total budget and a CPM-based ad bid (Cost Per Thousand Views).

Cros collects media content from advertisers, and a decentralized storage system distributes the content to ad assets, such as holograms, billboards, or wall displays, or to game engines through the ad-serve API.

Each ad content is linked to a campaign reference containing metadata about size, display formats, and fidelity (e.g., 3D or 2D). This metadata enables ad assets to optimize the display and user experience.

Publishers can purchase or lease these ad assets, which are available as inventory on the Cros ad-bidding platform, and then deploy them within games. Ownership of the ad asset NFT transfers to the publisher, who earns revenue from the ad impressions generated by that asset.

What is CROS Token?

$CROS is an ERC-20 governance token for the Cros Advertising Ecosystem with a limited supply of 1,000,000,000 tokens. Revenue is generated from in-game ad impressions and then shared between Cros, game developers, and billions of players.

Token Utility

The $CROS token serves the following functions in the Cros ecosystem;

• Game players and developers purchase ad-asset NFTs to earn ad revenues.
• Advertisers pay for ads in $CROS tokens to get discounts and cashback.
• Community, investors, and partners are required to hold $CROS to participate in governance.
• Validators will stake $CROS to validate ad impressions on the Cros L2 chain.

Tokenomics

Learn about CROS tokenomics from the image below:

Source: Cros

Governance

The Cross Governance Council will decide on technology, tokenomics, and voting rules. As of the time of writing (November 2024), Governance on Cros is still limited to trusted individuals and organizations. As the ecosystem stabilizes, more participants, including 24 independent token holders, can join in the governance process.

Roadmap

Phase 1

Phase 2

Source: Cros

Is Cros (CROS) a Good Investment?

Cros is a relatively new project focused on developing a niche-specific advertising platform. It should thrive within the GameFi ecosystem, servicing established Web3 games and metaverses.

As an early-stage project, Cros is yet to release comprehensive details about its product. More information and visual representations of its interface would help attract potential partners and investors. Given that the project would evolve, investors are encouraged to follow Cros’s social media handles for updates.

Investors are also encouraged to research and evaluate their risk tolerance before investing in the project or any other cryptocurrency because of the risks involved. They should consider the cryptocurrency market’s volatility and potential regulatory changes.

Note: Investing in Cros (CROS) or any other crypto project does not guarantee profit and could result in capital loss.

How to Own CROS?

To own CROS, you can use the services of a centralized crypto exchange. Start by creating a Gate.io account, and get it verified and funded. Then you are ready to go through the steps to buy CROS.

Highlight/News on Cros

Cros Announces Partnership with Adltix

Source: Cros

Cros also announced that it has secured a strategic partnership with Adltix, a media marketing agency. The announcement was made on its X account on 29th October 2024.

Adltix is a leading influencer marketing platform that connects advertisers and influencers.

Cros Announces Partnership with McDonalds

Source: Cros

Cros announced via its X handle on November 1, 2024, that it has secured a partnership with McDonald’s, a leading fast-food brand. Cros’ Media Partner, Adltix, will handle the ad campaign.

Useful References

For the latest updates about CROS, you can visit:

• Official website
• Whitepaper
• X
• Telegram

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