14 Measures Games Use To Attract New Players

The video gaming market had a difficult year in 2024. Established studios and businesses closed their doors, there were mass layoffs, and apart from major AAA titles, some games struggled to gain traction. Despite these problems, gaming remains the biggest entertainment market in the world, surpassing TV and movies.

Games, and the teams behind them, have a multitude of measures they use to help attract new players, ranging from promotional giveaways to influencer marketing. The game itself also needs to be appealing, while the launch of fresh content not only helps attract new players but also retains existing players.

Promotions

A popular means of attracting new players is through the running of promotions. Giveaways and bonuses are especially common in the iGaming realm. The Discasino casino bonus, for example, offers a 200% deposit match to new players. This attracts casual and serious gamers because it enhances the size of their betting bank.

This is just one type of promotional offer used in the gaming industry. It isn’t just iGaming websites that use this tactic, either. Video games offer discounts and promotions for in-game items, season passes, and other in-game elements.

1. Giveaways

Game makers don’t typically give away full-priced games to potential buyers. However, they may offer giveaways of in-game items or even exclusive merchandise to early adopters.

Game studios like presales because they offer early capital raised against the eventual value of the game. The popularity of a presale can also give some indication of how well the game is going to perform on its full release. Get enough interest from future players, and this will generally translate to a successful launch. Players can expect free skins, XP bonus packs, or money off seasonal game passes.

Even once the game has launched, prospective players may be able to access discounts on DLC and other promotional offers to encourage them to start playing. In some cases, game companies and retailers will give away copies of the game. They may also offer games to influencers and reviewers to give away to their followers.

2. Competitions

Competitions have been a staple of marketing efforts for decades. They attract attention, gain publicity, and they can make a product seem even more appealing. Competition types range from straight giveaways to money-off and discount prizes.

As well as giveaways, some games offer competitions related to the game itself. Prizes might be awarded for the best fan art or lore creation, or there may be prizes for the fastest speed runs on some games.

3. Discounts

Video game prices have remained surprisingly stable, and considering the number of hours of entertainment players get from them, they arguably represent good value for money. However, they do still represent a significant initial outlay for a lot of players, especially as most people have no idea whether they’re going to like a game or not.

Game publishers know that discounts attract buyers. Even a reduction of 20% can bring in considerable sales. It isn’t uncommon for games to receive discounts a few months after they have launched. Most game sales come in the first week or two after launch, with additional spikes in sales on the release of new DLC or other new content. Discounts can be used to help support quiet sales periods.

Marketing And Advertising

Game companies have substantial marketing and advertising budgets that include funds for traditional media advertising in papers and magazines as well as on TV. Most publishers use multi-channel marketing to ensure advertising is seen by as broad a range of potential players as possible, possibly even attracting new player bases and different demographics.

4. Traditional Media

With the proliferation of streaming services, video sites, and social media websites, it is easy to forget about traditional media sources. But, newspapers, magazines, and terrestrial or live TV are still popular, and game companies know this.

These channels offer the benefit that they have been around much longer than modern media. They have the experience of gathering and sharing data with advertisers, and this data is vital to marketing.

5. Social Media

There are approximately 5 billion social media users, which is potentially more than watching live TV and certainly more than reading newspapers and magazines. Social media offers excellent segmentation and demographic analysis of its users, as social media sites typically have access to more information about individual users than any other channel. This enables game makers to target specific groups of people.

On Facebook, for example, it is possible to show marketing posts to users who have expressed an interest in gaming. Similarly, it is possible to advertise or offer sponsored posts for specific keywords on other platforms like X. Such targeted advertising can drive a lot of new players to games.

6. Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing has become a go-to marketing channel for publishers. The game maker provides a free copy of the game to the reviewer and potentially pays them to play and post about the game. The reach of influencers can vary from a few hundred viewers to millions, and they typically have captivated audiences who trust what their favorite influencers tell them.

When gamers see others playing games, it also gives them a good idea of whether they will enjoy the game, and because the game company can check out past streams and videos, it is possible to target very specific groups of gamers.

7. Expos

Expos and exhibitions aid marketing in several ways. Gamescom in Germany attracts around 300,000 visitors every year, which is a huge potential market. This is why a lot of gaming companies announce new titles and even launch new games at expos. Expos are a form of experiential advertising where players can get their hands on some of the latest titles while also seeing gameplay clips of upcoming games.

Furthermore, these launches create a buzz, and expos not only attract gamers but influencers and the press. A new launch can get a lot of coverage from some events, making them a popular means of attracting new players.  

Game Attraction

No matter how good a game’s marketing campaign or how many influencers and streamers a game has behind it, if the game itself isn’t appealing to new players, it will be very difficult to draw new players in. Games need key selling points and unique selling propositions, just like businesses, and these can make or break the success of gaming titles.

8. Create An Engaging Game

Games need to be engaging. The game needs a goal of some sort: something for the player to aim towards. In the case of sports and competitive games, the goal is obvious – to beat the opponent. The goal of casino gaming is to win and make money. In some titles, the goal may not be as obvious.

Survival games, for example, can feel somewhat open-ended, especially if they don’t have a story mode to accompany them. The goal is to survive, but for how long? While players enjoy games that last and provide dozens or hundreds of hours of game time, they want a target to aim for, and games typically provide this. Level caps and end-game time limits are some ways that soft goals can be used.

Reward systems, which are a form of gamification, can also be used to increase engagement. Working towards a specific reward keeps players returning, although the reward itself has to be appealing. Games offer new skins or mystery items if a player reaches specific levels or hits other achievements.

Some iGaming sites have started to implement gamification in their offerings and players can now receive items like badges and exclusive invitations when they deposit certain amounts or meet other objectives.

9. Innovation

The video game industry is at the cutting edge of technology, with the latest hardware advances, and considerable investments made in the development of engines and software frameworks. More recently, we have started to see other innovations within the industry.

Cryptocurrency is routinely seen on iGaming sites and online casinos, where it offers rapid, inexpensive payment solutions. And we are starting to see the emergence of dedicated blockchain games, utilizing NFTs or offering play-to-earn capabilities. AI is another area for innovation.

We may soon see cryptocurrencies and NFTs introduced into mainstream video gaming. This would enable players to be able to move their in-game items from one game to another. They would also be able to use in-game cryptocurrency from one title in a completely different game. And, those items and cryptocurrency can be sold for real money.

While we’ve long heard about AI enemies and NPCs, recent improvements in AI technology mean that enemies are becoming more intelligent. Furthermore, game companies are looking for other ways to incorporate AI into gaming, including in the development of an AI skill system.

With this system, the AI will monitor a person’s gameplay and determine what they are good at, and what they are not so good at. Elements of the game can then be changed according to the AI’s findings. A player who rarely makes headshots in a first-person shooter might find the size of the hitbox increased.

These innovations follow devices like the Gameboy and the Switch, both from Nintendo, which revolutionized the way people play games in an attempt to make them more accessible to wider audiences.

10. Platform Compatibility

There are a lot of different gaming devices available today. PC gaming is often considered the pinnacle, but it is a relatively small subset of the gaming market. Consoles are found in a lot of households with console gamers opting for ease and lower cost compared to PCs.

Mobile gaming is also a huge market, with the majority of people having mobile devices capable of playing some sort of game. The handheld gaming market still exists, too, with Steam and Windows-powered mobile gaming rigs.

While some people prefer a desk, keyboard, and mouse, people at the other end of the gaming spectrum prefer touch screens and portability. The games that tend to perform best for sales and branding are those that are offered on multiple platforms.

11. Ongoing Content Development

Games can represent very good value for money, compared to other forms of entertainment. A AAA title can cost $70, but some games, like GTA V and Warzone, are played for hundreds of hours, giving a cost of less than $1 per hour of entertainment. Renting a 2-hour movie for $4 means that the viewer is paying $2 per hour of entertainment.

Obviously, this doesn’t take into account factors like the quality of the game or the level of enjoyment derived from it, but it’s a general measure of value. But, this is why games boast about having hundreds of hours of gameplay – it attracts new players and not just frugal gamers.

However, for a lot of games, there is a peak at which players enjoy the most engagement, and once they pass this peak, enjoyment dwindles.

Ultimately, when enjoyment falls to a certain point, the player will stop playing and move on to the next game. The launch of new content for existing games aims to push that engagement level back up by adding something new.

In some cases, this new content can also offer further monetization, with paid DLC and expansions being common in the gaming industry. Other game makers offer free downloads, and some offer a combination of free and paid DLC to engage players.  

12. In-Game Rewards

In recent years we have seen a move, by a lot of game makers, towards a season pass model. L.A. Noire in 2011 and DOTA 2 in 2013 were among the first games to offer season passes, or battle passes.

These passes typically offer rewards to players for achieving certain milestones, and they have become very popular in modern games, with titles like Warzone, Call Of Duty, and Fortnite being especially keen on the model.

The passes cost money and as players progress, they receive in-game skins or unlock new items they can use. The launch of a new season is commonly also accompanied by the launch of a new map, a new playable area, or new characters, depending on the games in question.

Passes keep players coming back because the rewards and the progression enhance user engagement. And, even those games that don’t have season passes may offer some type of in-game rewards. Role-playing games are based on this premise. As the player progresses and their character levels up, they unlock new abilities, items, or even areas of the game.

13. Loot Boxes

Loot boxes are in-game boxes that contain in-game items. Generally, the items found in the boxes are cosmetic skins, enabling the player to show off what they have won.

But, in some cases, they can include items that improve the player’s chances of winning. Loot boxes can be somewhat controversial, but there is no doubting their popularity with players and game makers.

Game makers can make additional money from the sale of loot boxes, where available. Players can invest real money, or they can use in-game currency earned from playing the game, to further enhance their enjoyment of the game.

This also takes us back to the idea of in-game goals. Players love goals, and the allure of loot boxes, especially when we see streamers and influencers opening those loot boxes, is enough to draw new players in.

14. Partnerships And Collaborations

The video game industry is one of the most competitive industries, with closely guarded secrets and ongoing instances of one-upmanship. However, one tactic recently employed by game makers is that of partnerships and collaborations.

These collaborations are common in Fortnite and Call of Duty: games with battle passes. Although game makers commonly collaborate with third parties like musicians and even TV series, there have been instances of gaming companies and game titles working together. Fortnite has collaborated with Borderlands 3, Rocket League, God Of War, Halo, and Street Fighter among others. There is even a Fortnite Lego game mode, combining gameplay elements from both franchises.

These collaborations enhance engagement because players want to experience what it is like playing as Master Chief in the Fortnite world, and they ramp up gamification modeling as users aim to get their hands on new skins and other elements.

Branded partnerships are especially common in online slots. While many slots have been designed based on ancient Egypt or Roman mythology, there are those based on movies like Indiana Jones and games like Space Invaders, Resident Evil, and Tomb Raider.

These branded partnerships can attract players of other games to try out new games, making them very popular with game makers.

Conclusion

There are a lot of ways games attract new players, but most of them take place outside the game itself. From expos to advertising, game makers invest huge sums of money in getting exposure for new titles. Influencer marketing and streaming are very popular avenues in today’s market, but we still see TV ads with in-game footage, designed to pique the interest of prospective players.