Gaming

Are Fortnite-style branded collaborations the key to Overwatch 2’s future success?

Published

2 years ago

November 18, 2022

Reading Time: 5 minutes

It’s been a rough month for the launch of Overwatch 2. In the first few days of its release, Blizzard’s long-awaited sequel to the 2016 team-based shooter was plagued with connection issues, leaving millions of players unable to enter matches. While many of the problems relating to server issues have now been addressed, Blizzard now has another challenge on its hands: making enough sales from microtransactions to support the franchise’s move to a free-to-play model.

So far, that’s been pretty difficult. Overwatch 2’s recent Halloween event, Halloween Terror, introduced a variety of themed character and weapon skins into the game for the ‘discounted’ price of 2000 Overwatch Coins each, roughly the equivalent of $20. A legendary skin for the character Kiriko was available for 2600 Overwatch Coins, a discount on the original price of 3700 Overwatch Coins. As you might imagine, this is already causing upset amongst some players, especially as this year’s Halloween update removed the option to earn unlockable skins simply by progressing through the game.

Evidently, some players aren’t willing to spend over $20 for an alternative outfit for their character. However, we do know that players are more than happy to spend roughly the same price in other free-to-play games such as Fortnite to unlock characters from popular franchises, whether that’s Goku from Dragon Ball Z or Marvel’s Spider-Man. This is something that Jon Spector, Overwatch’s commercial leader and vice president at Blizzard, seems well aware of, according to a recent interview with GameInformer.

In the interview, Spector announced that while he isn’t a Fortnite player, he thinks it’s ‘super cool’ and ‘awesome’ to see branded collaborations such as Naruto appear in Fortnite.
“As we look at the Overwatch 2 space, those are things that we’re interested in exploring,” he says.

So, with Overwatch 2’s current monetisation strategies leaving a lot to be desired, could we see a shift towards branded collaborations as a core monetisation strategy rather than the traditional legendary and epic skins? Dropping the price of skins and embracing Fortnite-style collaborations would make a lot of commercial sense for Overwatch 2, especially as the company still seems torn on its pricing, according to a recent survey sent out to select players.

We know that Fortnite’s collaborations with the likes of Marvel, NFL, Nike and Ferrari have been hugely successful for Epic, largely due to the amount of revenue they generate from the sale of cosmetic items such as skins, emotes, banners and emoticons. As an example, the game’s collaboration with NFL resulted in 3.3 million NFL-themed skins being sold for $15 each in November and December 2018, according to leaked court documents from the Apple v Epic case. That’s nearly $50 million in revenue.

The big question now is how easily Overwatch 2 can replicate Fornite’s primary business model, and how well-suited these collaborations are for the Overwatch brand.

One of the biggest challenges facing Overwatch 2 is the fact it’s a hero-based shooter, with each hero boasting their own unique set of skills, traits and playstyles. As is often the case with team-based shooters, players often find themselves favouring specific heroes, whether that’s offensive heroes or defensive heroes that suit their preferred styles of playing.

This means Overwatch 2 will have to think carefully about how it rolls out branded collaborations. As an example, will a Marvel collaboration introduce special themed skins for every single hero in the game, or will it introduce a new limited-time character into the game? The introduction of any new character will have to be calculated carefully, so it doesn’t negatively impact the balance of existing characters.

It’s more likely that Overwatch 2 will introduce themed skins rather than new characters such as those seen in Dragon Ball Z. Depending on the popularity of the IP that Overwatch 2 pursues, I suspect players will be more susceptible to investing $15 or $20 into a skin that turns their favourite Overwatch hero into an alternative version of their favourite anime, film, TV or comic book characters, whether that’s Spider-Man, Darth Vader or one of The Transformers.

The hero-based mechanics of Overwatch 2 could also mean skins are only available for specific characters. While this might cause backlash amongst some fans at first, it could also open up alternative revenue streams. As an example, the style and appearance of the tank hero Reinhardt lends itself well to a Transformers skin. Players that don’t typically choose Reinhardt but are huge Transformers fans may be tempted to purchase a Transformers skin for him and start using him more. In turn, this could lead to a knock-on effect for players who go on to purchase Reinhardt’s wider cosmetic items.

There’s no denying that Overwatch 2 is a great game; the reviews have been overwhelmingly positive. If Overwatch 2 continues to struggle with monetisation models, branded collaborations like those in Fortnite might be the answer to its future success. But taking an established franchise that previously carried a full-price retail tag and moving it over to a free-to-play model is no easy task.

Key considerations when choosing your target IP

If you’re a game developer looking to emulate Fornite’s IP success, there are a few things you need to consider before bringing IP into your game.

Don’t pick a target IP just because it’s a really popular brand or character. Look at your game and your players and ask yourself if it’s something that will resonate with them. For example, a clever partnership between The Walking Dead and State of Survival brought 20 million new players to the game. So a good understanding of your player demographics is a must. Be prepared to prove this to the license holders, too, as they’ll be just as interested to know if there’s any audience overlap.
It may sound simple, but make sure you do your homework. Different IP rights holders can have very different priorities and strict requirements for usage. Bigger properties, especially ones that are popular with children, can be especially stringent as its in the holders interests to carefully limit their use. So, it’s up to developers to demonstrate their ability to comply with them. Being prepared can give you a huge advantage, and help clear some of the initial screening phases and get in front of the right decision-makers.
There are more ways to integrate IP into your game than ever. So think carefully about your main goals, as simpler in-game items, like cosmetics and skins, are often much easier to negotiate with rights holders due to less complicated terms, plus, lighter development and creative costs can make them much quicker to roll out. FIFA 23 recently brought Apple TV’s Ted Lasso as well as Marvel cards to Ultimate Team, with these simple, smart deals opening the door for more collaborations in future.

Written by: Rachit Moti, founder and CEO at Layer Licensing, a licensing marketplace that helps game creators access brands, characters and stories that players love.

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Gaming

Nolimit City revisits the brutal factory life in Outsourced: Slash Game

Published

16 hours ago

November 5, 2024

George Miller

Nolimit City revisits the brutal factory life in Outsourced: Slash Game

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Nolimit City takes you back to the grind with its latest release, Outsourced: Slash Game. For those who thought their consumerist cravings were a safe indulgence, think again. Following in the footsteps of Outsourced, this new addition pulls back the curtain on the sweat and sacrifice lurking behind those everyday luxuries—this time with a dash of danger. Outsourced: Slash Game is the studio’s second venture into crash-style gameplay, the first being xCrash™ in Skate or Die – but this time it’s a standalone crash game!

In Slash Game, players have to make some cutthroat decisions as a laser traces the outline of their hand, increasing the multiplier with every pass. Players hit “stop” to cash out, locking in the multiplier when they feel the timing is right. After which, they will be shown the potential winnings if they wouldn’t have stopped. But here’s the catch: if players hesitate a second too long and the laser slips, all the winnings are lost. A live scoreboard displays the Top Win, Top Miss and Last Round, so that players can keep track of their previous rounds.

Outsourced: Slash Game is not a familiar Nolimit City slot to some players but could cause some excitement with an increasing multiplier and a maximum payout of 1,500x the base bet. Outsourced: Slash Game, unlike Nolimit City’s high-volatility slots, is rated as ‘Medium Volatility’ but don’t let that fool you as it still includes the risk of losing your hand.

Per Lindheimer, Head of Product at Nolimit City, said: “Get back to work, will you? We’re bringing players back to the unrelenting factory floor of Outsourced with an all-new twist. Slash Game is a standalone take on our crash-style games, and it’s packed with plenty of heart-stopping moments (and maybe a few hand-stopping ones, too). We’re thrilled with how it turned out and we hope that our fans will be too!“

‘Outsourced: Slash Game’ will be available to all Nolimit City partners on November 5th, 2024.

Gaming

The mobile gaming market is growing and attracting new companies. GAMIVO is the latest example

Published

7 days ago

October 30, 2024

George Miller

The mobile gaming market is growing and attracting new companies. GAMIVO is the latest example

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Usually, consoles and PCs come to mind when discussing the gaming industry. The mobile sector is often treated as a child of a lesser god, even though it generates almost as much revenue as console and PC combined. Some companies can see this potential. For instance, the e-commerce platform GAMIVO has recently entered the mobile market, allowing players to buy in-game items cheaper.

Back on course

The entire video game industry has evolved incredibly, but the most spectacular has been the growth of the mobile sector. It expanded from 36.9 million dollars in 2016 to 93.2 billion in 2021. Unfortunately, the gaming market suffered from a decline that stemmed from the overoptimism of the pandemic era. As a result, the mobile gaming industry revenues dropped to 92.2 billion in 2022 and to 90.5 billion in 2023. Recent information has indicated this was a necessary correction rather than a long-term trend.

The latest Newzoo report, issued in August 2024, shows that the industry is on the right track again. According to analysts, the mobile sector will generate revenues of $92.6 billion, representing +3.0% growth year-on-year. It’s nearly half of the entire gaming industry.

Billions of players

Revenues are crucial, but they only show part of the story. To fully understand the size and potential of mobile gaming, it’s necessary to consider the number of players, which constantly grew even when revenues dropped. Newzoo estimates that it will reach 2.8 billion in 2024. It means that almost twice as many people play on mobile devices than on PCs and consoles combined. Currently, every third person on Earth plays on mobile devices, and there’s still space for further growth.

“There are emerging markets where smartphones and mobile networks can expand, providing new potential players. Furthermore, this type of entertainment has a low entry barrier because most popular games are free and don’t require high-end devices,” explains Mateusz Śmieżewski, the CEO at GAMIVO.

One hobby, different habits

GAMIVO is an example of a company that has recently joined the party to get a piece of the mobile pie. “We examined the mobile market for a very long time, trying to find a suitable place for us. It’s essential to understand that mobile gaming and mobile gamers differ from their PC or console counterparts. You can’t do the same things you do with PC and consoles and hope to replicate your success,” said Mateusz Śmieżewski.

Studies confirm this observation. Average PC and console players spend about 2.1 hours a day in virtual worlds. It’s half an hour more than mobile gamers. However, things get interesting when we take a look at playtime per week, which is the same for mobile and console (5.4 hours) and slightly longer for PC (5.7 hours). Moreover, typical PC and console owners play 2.6 and 2.7 days a week, respectively, while mobile players play 3.4 days per week.

Those statistics prove that PC and console players are more dedicated, spending more time in games’ worlds once they enter them. However, mobile gamers prefer shorter but more frequent sessions. They play while commuting or have a short amount of free time.

“Mobile players are more willing to uninstall games and give another title a chance. Hence, the gameplay has to be captivating and designed to provide quick but intense sessions.

Furthermore, even though the average weekly playtime is identical to PC players, many mobile players don’t think of themselves as gamers,” clarifies Mateusz Śmieżewski.

Another major difference regards the way in which revenue is generated. PC and console games traditionally represent the premium model, where players buy the game. Most popular mobile releases are free and generate revenue with microtransactions. Almost all titles allow players to spend their real money on virtual coins, crystals, and other items that can be used to unlock additional content or reduce cooldowns.

Entering the mobile market

Those contrasts and nuances scare most companies from the mobile market. Let’s see how GAMIVO has coped with this.

“We decided to launch a new product category dedicated to mobile gamers. Our model allows them to top up in-game accounts cheaply. As a result, they can save up to 30% on buying virtual items, upgrades, and other content. The GAMIVO offer includes the most popular mobile titles, such as Genshin Impact and PUBG Mobile, and still extends,” describes Mateusz Śmieżewski.

“We dedicated a lot of time to research and analyses. Also, the development process required a lot of work to provide GAMIVO customers with safe transactions and a user-friendly environment. The first reactions are very positive, confirming our belief that our decision was right and there is still more space in the mobile game market,” concludes the GAMIVO CEO.

Gaming

AI Gives Horses for Courses True Meaning in ‘Owners Club’ Racing Game

Published

3 weeks ago

October 15, 2024

Adrienn Sarkany

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Invincible GG, a groundbreaking competitive gaming platform and technology company, has outlined the latest AI developments of its interactive mobile horse racing game, Owners Club, which is set to provide a new injection of interest into the ancient sports of kings.

Following a successful game launch in Q3 2024 and activations at the Doncaster St. Leger and York Ebor festivals, thousands of Owners Club players have started to formulate an expansive game world that gives the masses the true feeling of horse ownership, breeding, and racing experiences.

Being founded on the latest in AI and Web3 technologies allows the game to evolve with more nuance over time, with the former being implemented to enhance users’ strategic horse development and create developing traits and performance benefits that can lead to further self-training opportunities in-game.

Each horse has its own unique, nuanced genetics and racing traits. These can be trained via evolving in-game activity—which will include collaborative intelligence in future releases and passed on to future colts and fillies to create racing dynasties that will stand the test of time while also bringing in lucrative in-game winnings and potential syndicate stud earnings.

Further features include an AI-powered event simulation engine (instead of predetermined RNGs), and sophisticated algorithms that factor in horse health, jockey decisions, and environmental factors that ensure Owners Club races maintain tension and excitement throughout, just as racing fans in the real world would experience from the grandstand.

Jonathan Strause, Invincible GG CEO, said: “Gamers of today want more than static, insular game worlds. They’re looking for immersive experiences in evolving ecosystems, multiplayer competition, and the feeling that they’re fully integrated into the game. Owners Club is offering just that for both current racing enthusiasts and the next generation of racing fans.

“With unrivaled AI integration into the theoretically unlimited stable of in-game horses, combined with back-end Web3 technology that empowers players to easily realize what true thoroughbred ownership and training feels like, Owners Club players can forge their own relationship with horse racing via the gamification of training, racing, and trading in the app, which can only help the future engagement of this ancient pastime.”

Owners Club will be showcased to its biggest live audience yet at the QIPCO British Champions Day on 19th October, 2024, with live races broadcasted as-live to screens around Ascot, with various prizes on offer for the winning owners.