As we write this, there’s a debate raging in the global video games industry on whether video game marketing is dead.
So we surveyed 1000 console and PC gamers in the USA to test this hypothesis find out how gamers discover what to play in 2024.
The good news is that rumours of the demise of video game marketing have been greatly exaggerated. Things have just changed as they are bound to. Over the last few years, we’ve seen the rise of ‘authentic’ marketing in which consumers dislike being overtly sold to because they can smell spin a mile away. Instead, gamers crave advice and insight from multiple sources and real people like themselves.
If you’re a games marketing professional reading this, some things may surprise you, but your main takeaway is that there is no magic bullet.
As ever, marketing campaigns are a ‘mix’ of channels; gamers demand news and insight from more and more sources, so it’s no longer sufficient to bet the farm on one or two big-hitting channels when launching your game.
You can download our report right now for FREE and best of all, you don’t even have to fill in a form.
TL:DR? Here’s some of the key stats:
- YouTube (64%), TikTok (36%), Instagram (35%), and Facebook (34%) are the top platforms for game discovery, closely followed by Word of Mouth at 34%
- 29% more 18–24-year-olds use TikTok to discover gaming information vs 34–44-year-olds (58% vs 29%)
- The average gamer uses between four and five different discovery channels to inform themselves of the latest game news, updates and releases
- The least popular discovery sources were Metacritic Professional Reviews (3%), Metacritic user reviews (4%) and print magazines (5%)
- YouTube was the most trusted source (52%), and the least trusted were X/Twitter (19%) and online ads (17%)
- 40% of gamers are most prompted to play/purchase a new game if it’s part of a familiar franchise
- 30% are motivated by inclusion in subscription plans and positive user reviews
- 25% say influencer/celebrity endorsements prompt them to try new games
