Over the past few years, the gaming industry has become an outlet for millions of people to experience new narratives from the comfort of their homes. As more people seek out how to build their own stories using the lens of games, gaming has moved from the fringes to the mainstream, providing fresh new ways to participate in and tell new stories. We’ve recently dabbled in gaming ourselves with our pixel game JLOHITPLAY. With millions of eyes on this evolving industry, we’ve gathered some key currents in the shifting cultural landscape. Read on for more!

A New Type of Content House

The demand for gaming content has grown exponentially in the past two years, and competitive gaming organizations are using content creators to satisfy the demand of enthralled viewers. Alongside contracted competitive players, renowned gaming orgs like Sentinels, Cloud 9, and Team Liquid are signing creators to generate entertainment content outside of competitive matches. This concept is best exemplified by FaZe Clan, which has focused its roster of players to turn out captivating content over the past decade. By building out their own team of social media moguls and skilled streamers (including Snoop Dogg), gaming organizations like FaZe Clan are becoming a new type of content house, encouraging collaboration, community, and creativity amongst its creators and audience.

Now, content houses are going beyond one-off brand partnerships and towards new models of collaboration, with brands tapping into content houses’ built-in fan bases and doting communities. Lexus recently partnered with collective 100 Thieves to build an exclusive content house to “delight the 100 Thieves community with innovative content and elevated experiences developed uniquely for them.” The luxury car dealer and gaming organization also built out a physical Lexus Lounge where they shoot content for 100 Thieves’ numerous online channels. The successful partnership between the two illustrates the endless potential brands can tap into with these new types of content houses.

Transmedia Storytelling in Gaming

Gaming has long provided a space for creators and gamers to create their own vast, complex worlds, with compelling and unique narratives. While some have attempted to adapt these worlds and stories to feature-length films and television series, most have failed to drive a lasting impact for any number of reasons, from faulty plot lines to poor acting. The repeated failures to capture the beloved and intricate stories from video games in these transmedia attempts have generally left viewers discouraged and disappointed. However, Riot Games and League of Legends highlight the future of video game-centric transmedia storytelling through their animated Netflix series, Arcane.

Released late last year, Arcane tells the heartbreaking origin story of two of the game’s most memorable champions, Vi and Jinx. The show’s deep character builds and beautiful animations have spurred fantastic critical reception and overwhelming fan response from around the globe. Riot Games’ success with the League of Legends universe, particularly its recent release with Arcane and several other games, demonstrates the power of stories within the world of gaming, both in and out of gameplay.

For brands, this offers a unique opportunity to interact with gaming studios, artists, and players beyond just in-game items and skins. We anticipate electrifying collaborations in the entertainment space that integrate characters and plots to create interactive brand stories. Through gaming and these new forms of gaming media, audiences can foster deeper understandings of a story and a brand. Done correctly, brands can create immense loyalty from their audience through gaming as an immersive mode of brand storytelling. 

Our Favorite Streamers to Watch Right Now

Gaming has been a landscape dominated by a singular stereotype: the young male gamer–oft characterized by hypermasculinity, Monster, and shooter games like Call of Duty. However, as gaming becomes a common denominator in every household, the influx of new gaming personalities invites in a torrent of new narratives. Of these newcomers, the most exciting are women and others from underrepresented communities. With platforms like Twitch creating space for all identities, new creators are forging their own legacies in an ever-evolving landscape of gaming.

DEERE

Leading the way for Drag and LGBTQIA+ streamers is the one and the only DEERE. Part of the notorious Stream Queens–a collective of drag streamers–DEERE is a Twitch favorite with over 56.1K followers. Her streams often have a GRWM makeup look to match the game she’s playing for the day, followed by some top-tier comedic gameplay.

Powerzsurge

Aerial Powers aka Powerzsurge is not only an WNBA Champion, but a rising star in streaming. Signed to Team Liquid as a Diversity Ambassador and Streamer in early 2021, Aerial has gained notoriety for her entertaining NBA 2K, Valorant, NASCAR Racing, Apex Legends, and Call of Duty streams.

Joshseki

A fan-favorite streamer, Joshseki, is most known for his cheeky Valorant TikToks where he goofs off with his teammates. A beacon of positivity in a particularly competitive and sometimes toxic game, he cultivates a tight-knit community of regular viewers that adore his content. He has over 39k followers on Twitch and over 130k followers on TikTok, and we expect him to grow even more.

At the foundation of gaming in its current evolution is a desire to experience and tell new stories. The plethora of narratives portrayed through the lens of gaming–be it through streaming personalities, game characters, or competitive players–continues to capture the attention and hearts of this generation. We are sure that this is still just early days for the exciting new stories that will be told. If you think your story deserves a page in the gaming book, drop us a line!

Best,
Micki