Gaming content in the 'new normal'
4 min Best Practice
COVID-19 is changing just about everything these days — from where we work, how we work, how we get our groceries, how we connect with friends, where we find entertainment, and much, much more.
Events across the globe have been postponed or canceled outright. Amongst a myriad of other things, this has also led many to wonder how they will operate under these new conditions and how they’ll continue to engage with their fans. This new era we find ourselves in requires a different way of approaching how we think about and produce content.
Below you’ll find some creative examples from across the gaming and esports space that we hope help inspire you during this time.
The Overwatch League started a trivia series that highlighted some of its players and teams. Trivia is not only a great way to share part of your brand's history and fun facts, it's also an interactive way for audiences to get involved. You can run really far with this idea and extend it to just about anything, so don’t feel confined.
#OWL2020 Trivia returns!
— Overwatch League (@overwatchleague) March 22, 2020
True or False:
The @GZCharge have had players from 5 different nationalities play for them. #ChargeForward
Flashback to Fort Worth one year ago today. Glad to have these beasts @FormaL and @Gunless on the team. PS. Gunless won MVP pic.twitter.com/5a05pUvfOc
— Chicago Huntsmen (@Huntsmen) March 17, 2020
Recycle past highlights to look back on some amazing plays from earlier this year or in years prior. This is a great way to relive memorable moments from previous years that people may have forgotten about, and to share history with newer fans.
ESPN Esports kicked off a 64-person bracket to determine who the biggest pros, streamers, and personalities within esports are. Running a bracket like this not only stirs up conversations, but also leads to high engagement.
The #Esports64 returns for 2020! It's time to vote for your favorite pros, streamer and personalities to decide who moves on.
— ESPN Esports (@ESPN_Esports) March 25, 2020
Voting starts Thursday! Full breakdown here: https://t.co/kM75L3A20D
In the Hackney Yard bracket: @gotaga, @gameovergreggy, @montecristo and more! pic.twitter.com/IePy78dYcS
Thanks for tuning in!
— Astralis (@astralisgg) March 23, 2020
We had a lot of fun on today's stream.
Go follow and subscribe to our Twitch channel to get more content https://t.co/La6eGTovEQ#ToTheStars pic.twitter.com/wotZaIRDpY
Astralis, Gen.G, and leagues like BLAST have created new talk shows featuring players. Creating a new show in the midst of a pandemic is ambitious, but offers a creative way to continue serving content to your fans. Consider streaming to Twitter and/or utilizing the LiveCut functionality for real-time highlights.
Ahead of the closed beta release of VALORANT, Team Liquid gathered some of its best FPS players and had them answer questions about the game. Remote Q&As can be done via the Twitter VIT app, and all the talent needs to do is record a video and send it to whoever is running the Q&A from the team’s side (e.g., the social media manager).
What do you need to know about VALORANT? @Poach and @Mendo are ready for your questions #askTLVALORANT
— Team Liquid (@TeamLiquid) April 4, 2020
1st French player qualified for FNCS final & 6th European duo, GG @BadSniper & his teammate @nyhrox 🙌#ElCrackito also has a small message for you guys 🥳
— Team Vitality (@TeamVitality) March 22, 2020
💛💛💛 #VforVictory pic.twitter.com/uDTzEl5WHr
Shortly after qualifying for the FNCS Final, Team Vitality had one of its players send a video response that could be posted on the organization’s account. Requesting that your players record a message to fans right after a match helps make a genuine and heartfelt response.
Vancouver Titans used old player photos to prompt followers to provide what’s being said in the photo. This is a great way to infuse life into old photos that you may or may not have posted before, and caption contents are an easy way for your audience to interact with not only with you, but also fellow fans.
🧑🤚💬 Caption This pic.twitter.com/OTeL3Ranqa
— Vancouver Titans (@VancouverTitans) March 14, 2020
Can you handle a curveball?
— G2 Esports (@G2esports) April 1, 2020
Join our Discord Rocket League tournament to put your skills to the test!
JOIN: https://t.co/bfbAEks6fm pic.twitter.com/Tdy8cVXtqp
Don’t be afraid to try new things in this current environment. Everyone is in this together and is completely aware that the broadcast studio setup may need to be swapped for the at-home setup for the time being. This is a good time to pilot ideas that may have been sitting on the backlog and engage with your community on a closer level.
GLHF.