The ‘stay-at-home’ restrictions of COVID-19 have proven to be a major catalyst for a shift in consumption patterns in the gaming industry. Certain key factors are turbocharging the surge in gaming.

• 5G networks, low latency and cloud computing are enabling players to easily access games across multiple devices

• New cloud gaming entrants such as Google Stadia and Apple Arcade are bringing more choices and offering a better gaming experience to consumers

• User generated content is creating more options for customized, real-life interactions

• Augmented Reality (AR) is enhancing the real-world gaming experience

As the number of gamers and gaming segments increase, companies are literally sitting on humungous volumes of data. Data strategies and advanced analytics are now key to creating hyper-personalized Customer Experience (CX), and driving higher monetization and profitability.

The monetization strategies of gaming companies are also changing. Subscription-based models are tethering gamers to a longer buying horizon rather than just single purchases. This makes a deeper and holistic understanding of gamer motivations and customer journeys an imperative for companies.

Impact of Mobile Gaming & Regulations

Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML) and AR are now more tightly integrated with gaming than in the past due to the increase in mobile devices. As mobile gaming becomes increasingly social, it’s paving the way for more opportunities to drive interactions with user generated content. In this context, social media analytics can help in better customization and real-life interactions. Similarly, predictive and sentiment analytics can boost customer loyalty by generating deeper insights for promotions and incentives. Such relevant insights can aid gaming companies to develop different payment models that persuade gamers to play repeatedly. In addition, AI-driven analytics can predict and swiftly spot incidents that can mar CX through finely-tuned alerts. In the long run, it can also help companies draw effective metrics to improve CX.

As the number of gamers increases, big data analytics can enable companies to accurately and quickly track changing user behavior, trends and genre preferences. It can help companies detect triggers and motivations, as well as barriers to payments at the right moment. This will also help them create more contextual content based on local themes, cultures and languages.

The Future of Gaming

A growing, unmoderated user base, the rise of new market participants and stringent regulations are creating new challenges for the industry. Compliance failure, data privacy breaches, money laundering, trust and safety issues can be tackled only with comprehensive digital and analytical-led solutions. Building such solutions in-house can be time-consuming and costly for gaming companies. Hence, partnering with businesses that have the experience and expertise through a shared services approach will be the quickest way for companies to step up their game.

The global gaming market is estimated to touch nearly USD 314.40 Billion by 2026, while the number of gamers is expected to reach three billion by the end of 2023. As the gaming market becomes more diverse and competitive, data and analytical capabilities will be key to driving top-class performance for companies.

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