Future PlayStation 3 titles are to feature in-game advertising after Sony announced an initiative to encourage firms to buy space in its games.

The Japanese games firm has signed a deal with three key players in the in-game advertising market to approach games publishers in a bid to sell promotional space, claims Advertising Age.

"Making things open only makes things better for marketers or people who want to place ads because they aren't at the mercy of a given network," eMarketer senior writer James Belcher told Advertising Age.

"Everyone's playing around with the best model - how to charge, what gamers will and will not put up with."

According to figures from Advertising Age, the in-game advertising market is worth $400 million dollars and it expects it to grow during the next five years by 23% per annum.