Fandom Magic: Harnessing Community Strength

We all love games, and, over the years, we have celebrated their growth and all creative and technological innovations that came with them. We stand in awe and concern ourselves with the advances in game engines capabilities, as well as XR and AI technology. Nevertheless, we should never forget the main driver for all success in game business: a thriving community. Without passionate players driving games to their peak, there would be little to celebrate.

Surprisingly, though, the community is not always in the forefront of the business decisions game developers and publishers make. Many companies still see their players as ‘users’, numbers on a spreadsheet they can manipulate at will. However, the community is an important factor in the uprise of games, and it can be the driving force of outstanding victories, especially in times of crisis.

What is fandom?

Fandom, according to Cambridge, is ‘a group of fans of someone or something, especially very enthusiastic ones’. ?Oxford goes further to say a fandom is ‘an interpretive community consisting of dedicated followers of any cultural phenomenon, such as a television series or serial or a particular film genre or film star. An interconnected social network of such subcultural communities’. The term carries a fervour and dedication that similar designations as ‘admirer’ or ‘enthusiast’ fail to translate.

This term is widely used for music and movie artists, with positive and negative connotation. These communities are loud, passionate and able of grandiose actions. We cannot ignore the power of the fans to make or break a career or product. Some great examples of the positive impact of fans can be found in this article from With the Band. But my absolute favourite is when the BTS fans matched the band’s 1 million donation to the Black Lives Matter movement and raised thousands of dollars for people affected by the pandemic, as detailed in this article by Vice. And there is much more to it.

Why not games?

I have been long fascinated by the power of fandom. It all started as I was working with music. The fans could be the most positive or the most destructive power, all at once. They were truly a force of nature.

So, you can imagine my surprise when I started working with games and realised how separated the player community was from the developers. It has been improved over the years, but it is still a far cry of what the fans represent in other creative media.

My theory is that, as games were born from the IT development processes, they also carried the secrecy, isolation, and development procedures from their predecessors. The fear of the competition and counterfeits has always been deeply present in the IT environment. Although the game development process evolved and became unique from other app development, their relationship with the ‘user’ hasn’t changed as much (or as fast).

I am not saying players are not fans, as there are many cases where they truly are. Afterall, playing for hundreds of hours, acquiring collectables and merchandise, tattooing your favourite characters – all actions of true fans of great game IPs.

But as the game market grows and the KPIs become more daring, it becomes impossible to ignore the need to engage with the players in a more meaningful way and grow the community to new heights. These become especially true with the currently excruciating cost of user acquisition and these times of crisis.

Creating superfans

As detailed before, fans are a force of nature that can drive or drown a game. As games mature and strong IPs become an intrinsic selling point for investments, creating communities that allow increased organic growth and reduce acquisition costs becomes less a strategy, and more a requirement. Therefore, connecting with your players in a meaningful way becomes key to the success of your company.

Start early

Surprisingly, many companies still think about marketing and community when their game is close to be released. In my opinion, it is already too late. By waiting until the game is almost ready, you have missed a great opportunity to engage and build your community early and to have them advocating for you from the start. Nothing is more powerful than the ‘mouth-to-mouth’ marketing true fans can offer.

Therefore, I would highly recommend to any team to start engaging with the audience as early as possible.

Listen and learn

Listening to your community is a great exercise and, together with data analysis, is a powerful tool to deliver an experience that your players will love. Nevertheless, keep in mind two important aspects:

1.???? You can’t please everybody. Be careful not to be pushed to several distinctive directions by trying to fit all diverse ideas into your game.

2.???? What players want might not be what players need. And sometimes people don’t know what they really want.

Be open and kind to your community, treat them with respect and take good care of them. It is an amazing experience to have their support.

Be innovative

Several companies tend to underestimate their audience and choose the safest paths to attract the community. Although the risk of backlash is reduced at first, the probability of large success is close to zero due to the market noise and lack of creativity. To attract an audience that will be loyal to you for the long run, be bold, outstanding and treat them as the intelligent beings they are. Their appreciation is super valuable. Go big or go home.

The power of influencers

I don’t think I need to advocate here for working with influencers and its impact on games marketing. However, I believe most people have the wrong mindset about what it entails.

For most part, when I mention influencers, people imagine large, expensive campaigns, with the biggest content creators out there. But it doesn't need to be so. I am a firm believer in the power of the nano and micro influencers and how they can help spread the word about a game.

My advised approach is to bring a group of small influencers, compatible to your genre of game, and work with them from as early as possible. They may serve as both communicators with your audience and early testers. The relationship and trust you will be able to build will serve you not only for this game but also for all IP development.

Another positive way of working with your community is turning your most loyal fans into evangelists for your game. Many players would love to become influencers and you can be the driving force to help them succeed. You not only are creating an amazing story to be shared, but also supporting your players to grow in a career they dreamt of.

Marketing and community management

Many companies think of their marketing and community management departments as completely separate things. But in order for the community to become true fans of your game, these departments should work closely together and in tandem. Nobody knows your player community better than a competent community manager and when marketing is done with the players in mind, something powerful occurs. Your campaigns become more than a blast, but a wave, creating ripples that will produce lasting positive results.

Is UGC the future?

I have discussed the power of UGC before and modding has been around for many years now. But it is impossible to talk about community without commenting that players are no longer spectators only. They are taking ownership over their own entertainment and the companies that choose to keep them disconnected from the development will be at risk of being set aside by the community they depend on. I am looking forward to seeing where UGC will take us.

Games thrive on interactivity and storytelling, but these elements are meaningless without an engaged community to support them. Embracing and nurturing fandom is not just a smart strategy; it’s essential for the future success of the gaming industry.

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