Advergames

When I was a child, a video game was only for kids. Nowadays, there are more adults playing than children. There are even people who are professional players. This means that they earn a salary for playing video games like a football player or NBA basketball player. League of legends’ final had more than 7 million people watching the match in November 2024. Esports are now the icing on the cake.

More than 3 billion active players around the world are enough to pay attention. There is a huge audience. Besides, more than 50% of them are adults; they have their own money and could buy whatever product they want without asking permission from their parents. For this reason, it is very important for brands to consider that video games are a new channel for advertisement. Could be for selling their products or just to talk to their audience. Esports are the new sports as streaming is the new television.
Therefore, the advertising industry has already noticed this; and many experiences were made. Depending on the brand’s target is the video game to create for. Kids are playing on Roblox, casual adults are on mobile, advanced gamers are on PC or consoles, etc. It will also be important the genre of it: Horror, strategy, sandbox, shooters, sports, puzzles, etc. Every genre has its own audience. Besides, it is not the same as creating a horror game or a shooter than a sandbox or a puzzle. The implicit message the brand is giving is not the same. For this reason, it is very important to consider what do we want to communicate, and the campaign’s final objectives.

Advergames are used for almost everything now. Nikeland is selling t-shirts (NFT), but other companies are there only to communicate their values or remind the audience of their vision. Surveys were also made or even focus groups. Imagination is the limit.
Besides this, nowadays, is easy to do it. In the 90’s, if you wanted to create a video game you would need to start from the scratch. We are full of information and different technologies to use now. However, the most important is that you can use platforms or technologies already made up, and the only thing you need is to think of a good idea. For example: Roblox is a 3D render motor, but it is also a community, a marketplace, and a framework. You only need an idea and Roblox makes easy for you to develop it. Roblox also has a marketplace already made, a community to share your game with, scripts, and 3D models for free. It so easy to develop and publish a game there, that young kids are doing it. Minecraft is another example; Fortnite is doing the same thing as Roblox did.

To communicate is the challenge.

There are so many video games now that it is difficult to stand out. However, if you know what you want to tell your audience and which is your objective, will be ok.
It is important that your game and your marketing campaign are aligned because the brand and the game must be the same. Considering your video game as a branch. When you open a new branch, you always need to communicate, to advertise and to be patient. If you did the market research well, you wouldn’t need to worry. The sooner or later your audience will go to the new branch. This is the same! Let the video game to grow. But never stop communicating it.

Therefore, Advergames are a new opportunity to communicate your brand, talk to your audience, and even sell. It is marketing, PR and commercial in the same channel. Nowadays, is easier to develop and publish, but it is difficult to stand out. However, video or graphic advertising is even more saturated. I think this is a new opportunity to take advantage of. Let’s play!