Games-as-a-Service (GaaS) titles are becoming more and more the industry norm, with the benefits to both consumer and publisher clear. For consumers, GaaS means a bigger return on investment and the confidence of buying a game knowing it won’t be replaced in a year’s time. For developers, it means lowering development costs by sticking with a single project for far longer than in previous generations.
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But, with much of the industry offering GaaS titles, how do you build and maintain an audience in the long-term? Below are just five ways in which you can ensure your game has a sustainable player-base for years to come.
1. BUILD A ROADMAP
If you want people to stick around, they need to know they’re valued. Presenting a roadmap of amazing content arriving in the weeks and months after launch shows players you’re in this for the long haul. Gamers have undoubtedly become sceptical about GaaS products that have lost support from their developers far too soon due to a lack of success, and showing your commitment mitigates this.
Short-to-mid-term updates should always have firm (or as firm as possible) launch dates attached to them, while the bigger, long-term content can stick with ‘launch windows’The key things to avoid are stagnation and speculation, and a roadmap helps you stay in control of the messaging.
A clear and concise one-page roadmap for social will help create shareable content that gives a succinct picture of your game’s future. But this content then needs a big trailer to put meat on the bones and excite fans.
2. SEASONAL CONTENT THAT OFFERS VARIED TONE
Even the most hard-nosed of military shooters have shown a willingness to add new skins, modes and special guest characters which deviate from its lore and tonality. Each new season of Warzone presents a refresh of what the game can “feel” like the play, with the arrival of ‘80s action heroes like Rambo and John McClane the wildest yet.
Even if your product lacks the budget to bring in a Rambo, Batman or Neymar Jr., each new season needs to bring a noticeable new style that can reinvigorate the player base. Knowing which direction to take will entirely depend on internal analytics, audience mapping and sentiment analysis, to give you the best chance of reaching the widest group of players. Then, it needs a kick-ass campaign to present the tone through every asset, trailer and even the copy of your marketing posts.
3. BUILD FOMO
Throughout the lifecycle of your product, players will begin to move away and onto other titles. The natural decline in player count can be mitigated with content refreshes and season updates, but these are only effective alongside a solid marketing campaign that showcases all the cool stuff that, should these lapsed players return, they will get to enjoy. Of course, the content is ultimately what will bring players back into the fold, but raising awareness of the arrival of cool stuff is what will get their foot in the door.
Making everyone welcome is what will grow your audience, and making your long-time players feel valued is what will keep them engaged.
