The field of video game public relations is expanding rapidly, and developers are constantly finding innovative ways to promote their games. Video games are now categorized into computer games and console games, depending on the platform. Since their inception in the 1970s, video games have undergone significant advancements.
Modern video games feature stunningly realistic graphics and often incorporate simulations of real-world experiences. Furthermore, the emergence of social networks, smartphones, and tablets capable of playing games like Roblox has led to the development of new categories such as mobile and social games.
Video gaming is a multibillion-dollar industry that has been around for a long time. The global PC gaming market is expected to generate over 37 billion dollars in revenue by the end of 2022. On the other hand, the mobile gaming market is expected to generate over 77 billion dollars. What’s important today is that the first generation of gamers has reached adulthood and now has enormous purchasing power. Even though children spend a significant amount of time playing games on a daily basis, the activity can no longer be considered purely a child’s pastime. In reality, video gaming is growing in popularity among parents worldwide. Additionally, the gender distribution of video gaming parents is relatively even.
Even as we head into 2023, many individuals remain unaware of the true size of the video game industry. Who knew there was so much money to be made through zombie fights, gunfire, and tank battles? Behind the gaming industry’s well-known names, franchises, characters, and corporations, video game PR managers face the same issues as their counterparts in other industries.
When designing a game or gaming product, the amount of hype you can generate before you release the game can make the difference between a hit and a flop. You could be launching an incredible new game or gaming product that is years ahead of the competition. However, if no one knows about it, you’ll never achieve the long-term success you desire.
This is why you must plan your public relations approach months in advance. A well-crafted PR strategy can generate favorable media attention and reviews right away, giving any launch a significant boost.
What is gaming PR?
In the world of video games, mystical elements are by no means a rarity. At dead ends, treasure chests appear, magically containing an item that allows the player to escape the dungeon. Non-playable characters are trapped in looping animations until asked for their stories. Rocket launchers are lovingly placed right before the boss encounter. To the typical fan, this is just solid game design.
The art of video game public relations is an extension of the art of game design. PR sells people the reality of a world hand-crafted to meet their demands for an interactive game, using abstract language and implication.
Gamers are always on the lookout for the next big thing, whether it’s revealed at an E3 press conference or leaked to YouTube by some European gamers. Gamers are fast to forget about today’s games, but they’re always ready to stoke the fires of anticipation for what’s coming next.
How to do gaming PR in 2022
“When developing a PR campaign, the most crucial thing to consider is the game itself. We work together to identify the language that appropriately explains the game’s features and design a timeframe that matches their development schedule long before the game is even playable.” – Tammy Schachter, senior director of PR for the EA Games Label.
1) Build expectations with the right audience
The real publicity efforts begin several months before you release your new game. After all, as we’ve already said, the success of your game relies heavily on the amount of hype you can generate before the release date. Ninety days before the event, we recommend implementing marketing initiatives to boost your PR efforts. What role will your social media accounts play in your public relations efforts? What content do you plan to publish for the product or game? Is it possible to organize a virtual gathering for your fans and followers? This is when you can start putting together all of the components for a successful campaign by building excitement and anticipation.
While doing media outreach, look beyond the basic topics that various journalists cover and, instead, choose specific journalists who are a good fit for your niche. Pull out all the stops to provide as much information as possible to media outlets. Consider every part of their review, from the first seconds of exploring the game to their final moments with the scenario.
Reporters who are enthusiastic about the game will create more entertaining and interesting content. Influencers and media outlets are always looking for new opportunities to promote and recommend titles and items to their audiences. Reaching out to them is a good way to promote your video game to the public.
Do you need help capturing media attention for your new video game? You can reach out to Pressfarm – a PR agency that works with individuals and companies of various sizes in order to create newsworthy content. Once you have quality content, you can distribute it to media professionals. In fact, with a quality press release, some engaging guest posts, and an eye-catching media kit. You can capture media attention and entice journalists to write about your video game. Alternatively, you can publish your branded content on your owned media channels to inspire your website visitors.
Additionally, the Pressfarm Account Executive will create a customized media list from a database of over 1 million media contacts so that you can reach out to media professionals who produce content in the gaming industry. With these media contacts, you can continue to do extended media outreach for your brand long after Pressfarm has wrapped up your PR campaign.
A PR package from Pressfarm may be exactly what you need to turn your video game release into a big hit.
2) Amplify your message, multiply your success
Social media, particularly paid social media postings, is an excellent strategy to increase your launch-day press coverage and can have a significant impact on your message’s reach and credibility. You can ensure the relevant individuals see it on their timelines using the third-party validation you got through launch day reviews. Before they buy your game, your followers will likely go to top streamers, influencers, and media sites for recommendations and reviews. Ultimately, boosting press coverage on social media can also help you expand your following. This will help you build a community for future updates or launches.
3) Look for PR opportunities
When it comes to video game PR, different industry segments have different requirements. There are development teams that create games but do not publish them and there are publishing businesses. In order to connect with others and promote your games in the video game industry, you need to adhere to the same basic standards for any other business. It doesn’t matter whether you’re seeking to draw the attention of industry insiders to land a publishing agreement or putting your PR efforts toward garnering coverage for your games in both specialist and mainstream media outlets – the final goal is the same.
4) Use influencers to build hype
Do you know how Riot Games operates? Riot Games allowed a group of notable streamers, gamers, and reviewers with millions of followers to participate in an embargoed test drive of their game, allowing them to store the game’s records but not stream video until the embargo was lifted.
It was less risky to give out a beta version and let people play with it and hope for the best. This method not only ensured that they received a burst of media and public attention at the same time. But it also allowed them to avoid creating spoilers before the game was released.
This was a daring yet successful technique. On Twitch, the game had almost 1.7 million concurrent watchers when it went live.
All of these public relations strategies can help your new game or gaming product get the attention it deserves. In the critical first few days, you should use a combination of media relations, influencer marketing, and social media marketing. This approach can broaden the reach of your launch and draw the attention of your target audience. However, the creative character of games, together with the pleasure and entertainment value they offer will provide additional opportunities for gaming public relations professionals. Use them to see how much easier it is to attain the greatest results possible.
Things to remember about gaming PR
1) A massive part of media is devoted to gaming
The gaming media is as large as the gaming industry itself. This includes a large and diverse group of casual fans, superfans, fanboys, amateur enthusiasts, and professional journalists, in addition to top gaming journalists.
Most gaming announcements have a brief lifespan in today’s constant news cycle. For this reason, all media outlets committed to covering the world of video games are constantly on the lookout for new material to entertain their audiences with. This opens the door to anyone who recognizes that any game release has a plethora of news angles.
2) Gaming PR requires a specific set of tools
There’s no excuse for not stepping up your game when it comes to streamlining your PR operations, and video game PR is no exception.
An online newsroom is very useful. This is a dedicated online space that is branded to match your visual identity and has your brand name in the URL. You can post live, updated announcements of all the items you want to share with the press in the online newsroom. Instead of attaching press releases to emails and requesting recipients to download them, you can include a link that takes any contacts straight to your online newsroom.
It’s easy to spend way too much time looking for the right journalists in the right magazines or with the proper focus when expanding your reach beyond your present network of contacts. You might not be able to locate them at all, or you might knock on the wrong doors. You can make life easier for yourself when doing media outreach by signing up for a vetted, professional journalist database.
With an up-to-date, well-organized database, you can search for media contacts by whatever criteria matter most for your new game. In addition to helping you create more effective media lists, a media database significantly improves the quality of the relationships you form with these media contacts. Moreover, using a media database to connect with media professionals who are likely to be excited about your new game boosts your chances of getting media coverage. As you can see, the extra cost of signing up for a media database is worth it. This is because it saves you lots of time and hassle while helping you get better results from your PR outreach.
3) You need to have lots of graphic assets ready to go
Video games are a visual medium, so any media coverage you get will definitely include some graphic aspects. It’s up to you to develop as many graphic assets for each title as possible to supplement the material you provide journalists with. Providing visual material will significantly boost your chances of getting media coverage.
Some good visuals to include could be the game’s logo and anything else that might be included in a feature piece on your video game. Think graphic stills as well as videos. Both long and short-form videos are a good idea. You can also include graphic stills in a variety of sizes and resolutions.
Make it easier for journalists and editors by providing an extensive collection of ready-to-use content. Editors frequently make last-minute judgments regarding which stories and features will be included in their daily content selection. It’s not uncommon to receive an email offering coverage if you can send everything to them right away, including all the graphics.
Graphic materials are just as vital as the informational content you send a contact when promoting your game. In fact, graphic materials are crucial to the success of your gaming public relations activities.
4) Engage with your community
Online communities frequently build around studios, games, characters, and game universes. If you’ve ever observed a game community up close, you’ll know how engaged they are. When there’s a new game title on the market, there isn’t a topic that isn’t continuously researched, disputed, and scrutinized from every angle.
In other words, the community you build will consist of people who are really interested in whatever you have to say about the game. What’s more, they will share any news and updates from you with their social circles. Take time to build a friendly relationship with members of that community. Those who have their own social media and YouTube platforms will magnify and echo your message.
It’s worth spending some time exploring these communities as a visitor to see what they’re talking about and how you may fit in. Don’t be surprised if you find out that your game fans have their own sizable followings.
Gamer communities are a gold mine for public relations. Any gaming PR strategy should include tactics for connecting with these fans. After all, when you’re promoting a new game, what could be better than a massive internet fan base that is always on the lookout for any news about the game?
Conclusion
Regardless of whether you are a gamer or not, the potential of hearing about the newest game on the market is very high. With so many gaming companies, you need to develop the right strategies to break through the noise. With the right approach and connections to an online gaming community, you can generate hype and create anticipation in the months before your game launch.