After burning its bridges with former publishing partner Activision, Call of Duty: Finest Hour developer Spark Unlimited is taking a page out of the publisher's book and embracing in-game advertising: on its own terms.

Today the developer announced it has cut a deal with in-game ad network Massive Incorporated.

In what the two parties are calling "a long-term, strategic partnership," Spark will deliver "several to-be-disclosed AAA titles" to the Massive Network. The Massive network is an opt-in technology that allows ads to be streamed to PC games which are played online.

The Massive SDK is added to the game's code before release. Massive then manages the sale of in-game ad space to marketers, of the ad imagery code, and billing. Ordinarily, revenues are split with the game's publisher. Today's announcement is noteworthy for the fact that the deal is between a developer and Massive, not a publisher and Massive.

Whether it foreshadows a distribution model that excludes the publisher, or one that makes Massive the de facto publisher, wasn't made clear.

"We’re thrilled to collaborate with Spark to create innovative, customized advertising for their games," Nicholas Longano, CMO of Massive, said in a statement.

Craig Allen, CEO of Spark Unlimited was a bit more transparent, saying, "The revenues that we will generate through in-game advertising will provide the funds necessary to support greater innovations in development that will ultimately benefit our gaming audience."

With no mention of a publisher in the value chain, the implication is that there will be none. In addition, the companies made no mention of games that may fall under the scope of the agreement.

Massive boasts of relationships with a number of high-profile brands, including Coca-Cola, Comcast's G4 network, GameFly, Honda, the US Navy, NBC, Nokia, Panasonic, Paramount Pictures, Sci-Fi Channel, The WB Television Network, T-Mobile, Universal Music Group, Verizon DSL, Warner Bros., and XFM Radio.

Spark made headlines in August when it brought a lawsuit against Activision, accusing the publisher of fraud, breach of contract, and stealing both employees and sequel ideas. That complaint is still pending.