{"id":657172,"date":"2025-03-15T09:10:14","date_gmt":"2025-03-15T06:10:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/gamings-best-friend-or-worst-enemy\/"},"modified":"2025-03-15T09:10:14","modified_gmt":"2025-03-15T06:10:14","slug":"gamings-best-friend-or-worst-enemy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/gamings-best-friend-or-worst-enemy\/","title":{"rendered":"#Gaming&#8217;s best friend or worst enemy?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a33e4319deb1\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a33e4319deb1\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/gamings-best-friend-or-worst-enemy\/#More_views_more_playtime%E2%80%94but_fewer_sales\" >More views, more playtime\u2014but fewer sales?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/gamings-best-friend-or-worst-enemy\/#The_Adpocalypse_effect\" >The Adpocalypse effect<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/gamings-best-friend-or-worst-enemy\/#What_this_means_for_the_gaming_industry\" >What this means for the gaming industry<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-gallery lightGallery\">\n<div data-thumb=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/tmb\/2025\/gamer-influencer.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/hires\/2025\/gamer-influencer.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Credit: Pixabay\/CC0 Public Domain\">\n<figure class=\"article-img\">\n            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/800a\/2025\/gamer-influencer.jpg\" alt=\"gamer influencer\" title=\"Credit: Pixabay\/CC0 Public Domain\" width=\"800\" height=\"530\"\/><figcaption class=\"text-darken text-low-up text-truncate-js text-truncate mt-3\">\n                Credit: Pixabay\/CC0 Public Domain<br \/>\n            <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">YouTube<\/a> influencers are shaping the gaming industry in unexpected ways, and a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/pubsonline.informs.org\/doi\/10.1287\/mksc.2021.0242\" target=\"_blank\">new study<\/a> in the journal <i>Marketing <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/sciencee\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"5\" title=\"Science\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Science<\/a><\/i> uncovers the surprising truth: Although influencers can drive massive engagement with video <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/game\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"7\" title=\"Game\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">game<\/a>s, they might also be costing game developers millions in lost sales.<\/p>\n<p>The study, &#8220;Opposing Influences of YouTube Influencers: Purchase and Usage Effects in the Video Game Industry,&#8221; provides the first causal evidence of how influencer marketing affects gaming. Researchers found that although YouTube gaming content increases playtime, it may also discourage purchases\u2014particularly for narrative-driven games in which viewers can experience the full storyline by watching playthroughs.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"More_views_more_playtime%E2%80%94but_fewer_sales\"><\/span>More views, more playtime\u2014but fewer sales?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Using extensive data from Steam, the world&#8217;s largest PC gaming platform, the researchers uncovered a double-edged sword: YouTube influencers drive more engagement with the YouTube influencers and longer playtime, but their content can actually hurt game sales.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;YouTube gaming content is a blessing and a curse,&#8221; says Nan Li, the study&#8217;s lead author and professor at Tongji University. &#8220;It can turn a game into a viral sensation, but for some games, especially story-driven ones, people may choose to watch instead of buy. That&#8217;s a major challenge for developers.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Adpocalypse_effect\"><\/span>The Adpocalypse effect<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The researchers took advantage of a unique event in YouTube&#8217;s history\u2014known as the Adpocalypse\u2014in which a sudden change in YouTube&#8217;s advertising policies forced influencers to delay their uploads. This gave researchers a rare opportunity to study the causal impact of influencer content, free from the usual biases.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Most influencer studies can&#8217;t separate cause and effect,&#8221; says Avery Haviv, a professor in the Simon Business School, University of Rochester. &#8220;But this moment in YouTube&#8217;s history gave us a natural experiment to measure the real impact of gaming videos on sales and engagement. The results were eye-opening.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>                                                                                                        <!-- TechX - News - In-article --><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_this_means_for_the_gaming_industry\"><\/span>What this means for the gaming industry<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The findings explain why companies have been divided on influencer marketing. Although games that rely on long-term engagement (like Minecraft or Fortnite) benefit from YouTube&#8217;s reach, single purchase games (e.g., story-driven RPGs) may actually lose revenue when influencers share full playthroughs.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s clear that one-size-fits-all marketing no longer works in gaming,&#8221; says Li. &#8220;For games that make money from in-game purchases, influencer exposure is free advertising. But for single-purchase games, developers must think twice about their strategies.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>With YouTube gaming content making up one-third of all YouTube traffic, and gaming influencers driving billions of views, this research delivers a critical message: influencer marketing is powerful, but it&#8217;s not always profitable. &#8220;For game developers, the question isn&#8217;t whether influencers matter\u2014it&#8217;s whether they help or hurt the bottom line,&#8221; says Mitch Lovett, a professor in the Simon Business School, University of Rochester. &#8220;The answer depends entirely on the business model.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-main__more p-4\">\n<p><strong>More information:<\/strong><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNan Li et al, Opposing Influences of YouTube Influencers: Purchase and Usage Effects in the Video Game Industry, <i>Marketing Science<\/i> (2025). <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" data-doi=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1287\/mksc.2021.0242\" target=\"_blank\">DOI: 10.1287\/mksc.2021.0242<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"d-inline-block text-medium my-4\">\n                                                Provided by<br \/>\n                                                                                                    Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences<br \/>\n                                                    \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"icon_open\" href=\"http:\/\/www.informs.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<use href=\"https:\/\/techx.b-cdn.net\/tmpl\/v2\/img\/svg\/sprite.svg#icon_open\" x=\"0\" y=\"0\"\/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/svg><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                        <!-- print only --><\/p>\n<div class=\"d-none d-print-block\">\n<p>\n                                                <strong>Citation<\/strong>:<br \/>\n                                                YouTube influencers: Gaming&#8217;s best friend or worst enemy? (2025, March 14)<br \/>\n                                                retrieved 15 March 2025<br \/>\n                                                from https:\/\/techxplore.com\/<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a>\/2025-03-youtube-gaming-friend-worst-enemy.html\n                                            <\/p>\n<p>\n                                            This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no<br \/>\n                                            part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.\n                                            <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script id=\"facebook-jssdk\" async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/sdk.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMN63nwsw68G3Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more Like this articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/category\/sciencee\/\" target=\"_blank\" >Science category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/techxplore.com\/news\/2025-03-youtube-gaming-friend-worst-enemy.html\" target=\"_blank\" >Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Credit: Pixabay\/CC0 Public Domain YouTube influencers are shaping the gaming industry in unexpected ways, and a new study in the journal Marketing Science uncovers the surprising truth: Although influencers can drive massive engagement with video games, they might also be costing game developers millions in lost sales. The study, &#8220;Opposing Influences of YouTube Influencers: Purchase&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":657173,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/hires\/2025\/gamer-influencer.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-657172","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sciencee"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/657172","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=657172"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/657172\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/657173"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=657172"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=657172"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=657172"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}