One frequently cited potential benefit of in-game advertising has been that it can reduce development budgets, but while publishers are in a strong position to take advantage of in-game advertising, the tangible advantages for developers without publishing control are less apparent. Microsoft's new program seems to be attempting to address that point, though currently only in the casual space as opposed to in large scale game development. It may be only a matter of time until a major publisher attempts a similar program in the core games industry. (Thanks HardOCP)