In August, PlayStation launched an extensive marketing campaign to bring its live shooter game, Concord, to the attention of millions. Streamers who played the game on their channels generally gave positive feedback. However, weeks later, the game was shut down, and in October, Sony announced the closure of the studio. Now, Concord faces significant dislike from users on Metacritic. This raises the question: Were the streamers so wrong? And if so, why do game marketers continue to rely on them to get a game off the ground?

Unraveling the Impact of Streamer Promotions on Game Success

Marketing in the Digital Age

When a video game company aims to boost sales, the traditional methods like annual convention presentations (RIP E3), retail store posters, or traditional online ads are no longer the first choice. Many companies now directly approach individual enthusiasts to promote their games. In many cases, getting a large influencer to play a game is enough to make it trend for days. The "For You" page at the top of our feeds has become the new vanguard for determining which video games are worth playing, a significant departure from a decade ago when companies relied on traditional advertising forms.Twitch's chief marketing officer, Rachel Delphin, explains, "Now creators are brands, and instead of creators leveraging a brand for financial gain or promotion, it's often brands that are trying to leverage the power, influence, and relevancy of a creator who is their own brand. The streamer knows their community, their aesthetic, and what will resonate."

Sponsored Streams and Content Creators

For a recent Sims-sponsored stream, streamer and TikToker Hannah Rose, or hannahxxrose, aimed to make it as authentic as possible as she grew up playing Sims games and later partnered with Electronic Arts to try out new content. She said, "There are some talking points you have to hit, like making sure you check out the [Cottage Living expansion Sims 4] pack for this reason because they added cows. Or they added this new outfit. So you have to hit all the talking points. But it still comes naturally to me."The line between content creator and critic is blurring. Mexican Twitch streamer Alanalarana, 23, was flown to London to try out Call of Duty: Warzone during a testing phase. She has also worked with games like Fortnite, Valorant, Genshin Impact, and Mortal Kombat. She said in Mexico, many companies reach out to creators for publicity. If a game is bad and a company asks her to promote it, she will decline. "If I didn't like it, I would say it, but it hasn't happened to me."

The Case of Typical Gamer

Andre Rebelo, better known as "Typical Gamer" to his millions of followers on YouTube and Fortnite, was one of the creators paid to promote PlayStation's now-failed live shooter. He said, "I was actually sponsored by Concord. I actually enjoyed the game. It was lacking in some parts, for sure, but I enjoyed the game at its core."He still has two Concord videos on his YouTube channel. The one titled "Typical Gamer Plays Concord!" received only 104,000 views, while the one where he said he would play Fortnite and then Concord received 443,000 views. Rebelo guessed why the game still failed despite his promotion. He added, "It's an age-old question I've heard from veterans in the industry: Is it the marketing or the game that made it succeed? They did spend a decent amount on influencer marketing. Didn't really save their game, right? There were other core issues, like price and their rigidity in not wanting to go free-to-play."

The Limitations of Influencer Marketing

This new form of marketing leverages the relationship that influencers have built with gamers. Gamers may respect and value these creators' opinions and recommendations. But ultimately, a gamer's relationship with a game is personal and can only be influenced to a certain extent.Concord has since shut down, and Sony closed the studio, citing competition in the player versus player first-person shooter genre. The announcement was widely covered by journalists and content creators. As several streamers told Inverse, if a game isn't fun, there's not much that can be done. A few streams might boost the game temporarily, but eventually, people will realize it sucks.Influencer and Twitch streamer Youna Kang, better known as CodeMiko, said, "Influencers and Twitch streamers are a great marketing tool to reach out to people. But at the end of the day, if your game sucks, no matter how much a Twitch streamer says it's good, it just won't gain traction."