Although the gaming industry has occasionally been dismissed as frivolous or in some way not as serious as other sectors of the entertainment industry, there is no getting around the fact that today, the gaming sector is big business.
In fact, according to recent reports, the global gaming business is expected to be worth around $321 billion in 2026, which is up from a total valuation of $235 billion in 2022.
This level of growth has been fueled by a number of factors, which include shorter-term factors⎯such as the COVID-19 pandemic⎯as well as sector-wide shifts⎯such as increases in advertising budgets. It has also been fueled by the ready availability of gaming devices such as game consoles and gaming laptops, with technological advances making these devices more accessible than ever.
The gaming industry has also been very adaptive to changing consumer tastes, with new business models allowing game developers to continue generating revenues even as players switch from ‘ownership-’ to ‘subscription-based’ models. This has allowed game developers to post record profits, even during economic downturns.
Based on this alone, it is clear that the business world has a lot to learn from the gaming industry. But what are some of the most important lessons? And how can other companies learn from game developers?
Develop a Community
In the gaming world, community is everything. Not only will the community attached to a game help to build up hype around new releases, but a community can also help to generate revenue long after a game has been released.
This is a lesson that game developers across all verticals of the gaming industry are acutely aware of. And it has been taken to heart by the likes of Comeon Casino Canada, who have invested heavily in community building as they have grown their online casino platform. This has helped them grow to become one of the leading online casinos in just a few short years!
With that said, every business should think of their customer base as a ‘community’ and think about ways of adding value to that community, whilst also thinking about ways to turn a sense of community into a revenue stream.
Accessibility Matters
Although many video games require a specific console to play them and thus, have a relatively high barrier to playing them, the free-to-play and cross-platform model has thrived in recent years. This has seen games such as PUBG: Battlegrounds and Fortnite explode in popularity.
Whilst a free-to-play model might not work in every sector, it does show the importance of accessibility in attracting and building a customer base. Whether it’s sharing content, offering free trials, or making it free to access, you should always be finding ways to get customers to use or interact with your product.
The more time they get to spend with your product or business, the more likely they are to generate revenue.
Iterate
In the gaming world, iteration is incredibly important. This means not only improving the experience between different releases but also bringing out updates to games on a regular basis in order to fix any issues or add more content.
Iteration is the name of the game. And developers would rather work towards bringing a product to market and improving it over time, rather than delaying the release too long and risk potential customers losing interest.
Know When it’s ‘Game Over’
One thing that game developers know all too well is that every game franchise will eventually hit a point when it is time to let things die.
It can be incredibly difficult to maintain interest in a game franchise over years and decades, particularly as technology progresses and customer tastes ebb and flow.
As such, game developers tend to be quite good about knowing when to call it quits and cease development on a game, series, or franchise.
For businesses in other sectors, this is often not the case. Business owners tend to just try and stick it out, hoping that things will pick up in the near future. This is not always the best strategy, however, with companies often needlessly pouring resources into a dying business endeavor or product line.
Never hold yourself hostage to a failing idea or plan, and never be afraid to reboot or press reset.
