Microsoft-owned in-game advertising firm Massive has announced that it saw double-digit year-on-year revenue growth for fiscal year 2009 and that it has exceeded its first quarter sales target by over 100 per cent just one month into its new fiscal year.

“We're seeing light at the end of the tunnel… and we're extremely excited about our prospects for the future,” said Massive boss JJ Richards, who previously served as Xbox Live's general manager.

Microsoft acquired Massive for between $200 million and $400 million in 2006 to deliver dynamic ads across its online services. Having sold its first dynamic ad four years ago, Richards said that Massive’s reach now extends to over 40 million Xbox and PC gamers in 31 countries worldwide. He added that the company recently booked its 1,000th client campaign.

In May, Massive suffered a number of job losses as its parent company announced a fresh round of layoffs, although Microsoft told us at the time that reports of a 75 per cent workforce reduction were "wildly inaccurate".

During the same month, a Screen Digest report forecast that spending on in-game ads is set to reach $1 billion by 2014, representing about one and a half percent of total digital advertising spending.