Gaming Influencers — Not Companies — Earned 93% of Content Views Over the Last Year

By Bree Brouwer · June 14, 2020

Gaming Influencers — Not Companies — Earned 93% of Content Views Over the Last Year

Did you know that over the last 365 days, gaming influencers drove 93% of the top gaming publishers’ YouTube views?

User-generated content (UGC) is not a sideshow in the gaming industry; it’s the main act. And gaming companies are missing out on the opportunity to claim their share of potential views and ad revenue.

In our recent report with Newzoo, we determined not only which gaming companies pulled in the most views, but also where the biggest opportunities lie for these companies to expand their reach effectively and grow their potential revenue by working with gaming influencers. 

With that, let’s look at the data!

Winning Attention Means More Revenue

Capturing attention across social video has never been more important for gaming companies. With more views means more opportunity to cement your brand across new audiences and earn more revenue. 

This is especially true now, as gaming content had its best month in three years in April 2020 with 37B views on YouTube (a 56% YoY growth). As noted above, most of those views didn’t come from any type of earned clips. 

We also found that performance of these videos was affected by the number of influencers a gaming company worked with. In general, the more gaming influencers a company partnered with, the more likely they were to earn higher average 30-day views (V30).

Gaming Influencers — Not Companies — Earned 93% of Content Views This Last Year
Top gaming publishers’ views and revenue on YouTube over the last 365 days

Essentially, if gaming companies want to capture more attention and earn more revenue, they need to get smarter about which influencers they partner with. 

4 Ways to Level Up Your Content with Gaming Influencers

Deciding to work with influencers is one thing; picking them is another, especially when you have millions of potential partners. After all, you want to work with the gaming influencers who will effectively and authentically gain more audience attention for your titles.

Gaming Influencers — Not Companies — Earned 93% of Content Views This Last Year
The more relevant gaming influencers a company worked with, the more likely they were to earn higher average views.

Here are a few ways you can narrow down your options: 

Consider different creators for different categories.

Avoid a one-size-fits-all approach when trying to use the top influencers across all your genres. They may not actually be a good fit for that particular title, while another creator could ultimately draw in more views and engagement.

Work with gaming influencers who already love you.

Clearly, you want to work with creators who are already creating content about your games. Also look for creators who are likely to have an affinity for your titles, as well as those who you might be able to “steal” from your competition.

Expand your reach based on your target audience.

Which gaming influencers does your target market love watching? Have you worked with them before? If not, it’s time to collaborate with these influencers and gain even more reach.

Stay on top of the changing landscape.

In reality, some up-and-coming creators might be the perfect fit for your campaign. For example, the top five creators in the video games category changed almost entirely in the last 30 days!

Want to know what else you can do to improve your reach?

Be ahead of the curve in
the age of video.