Gaming
Ultra PC Gamer Research Exposes Continued Struggle with Pricing and Discoverability on PC
64% of digital PC games purchased at discount or downloaded for free
36% of gamers find it difficult to discover new PC games to play
Ultra, a complete PC gaming hub created by AAA talent from companies like Ubisoft, Playstation and Nintendo, today releases the first findings from its forthcoming report, The Ultra PC Gamer Study. They reveal that 64% of digital PC games are either purchased at a discount or obtained for free with 87% of PC gamers saying discounts are important in their purchasing decisions.
The findings, drawn from an independent survey of 2,000 PC gamers across the United States and United Kingdom, demonstrate the vital importance of indie games to the PC gaming ecosystem. Three-quarters of respondents buy indie PC games while the same proportion (75%) report that AAA games are too expensive. Price sensitivity is far from the only factor working in favor of indie games, with gamers citing creativity (40%) and a desire to support smaller developers (28%) among their motivations for buying them.
The picture is more mixed for alternative game stores with low awareness of platforms beyond Steam and the Epic Games Store. However, the finding that 36% of respondents find it difficult to discover new PC games to play may offer some encouragement to challenger brands. Currently, gamers are most likely to discover games they haven’t heard of before on YouTube (38%) while 94% of gamers consider game reviews in their purchasing decisions.
“These findings show a PC gaming market that’s currently shaped by gamers’ price sensitivity with players having to make careful purchasing decisions this holiday season,” the Co-Chief Executive Officer for Ultra, Nicolas Gilot, said. “This offers invaluable insight for developers, publishers and platforms and shows the scale of the opportunity for indie games and challenger storefronts even in the mature, prosumer PC gaming market, which has been growing and evolving for decades.
“PC gaming has always given players as much freedom as possible; whether that’s through the choice of titles, platforms, hardware, the ability to mod or simply fine-tune the settings of your favorite games. It’s clear that there’s an opportunity to evolve further; which we will discuss in the full release of The Ultra PC Gamer Study, which is to be published in January of 2024.”
Key findings
Purchasing Power: 75% of PC gamers feel AAA PC games are too expensive with 87% saying discounts are important in their purchasing decisions. Therefore, only 36% of digital PC games are purchased at full price while 32% are purchased at a discount or through bundles and 32% are obtained for free. Possibly showing the shifting business model of gaming, 68% of respondents say they buy in-game content such as battle passes.
Indie Game Adoption: There’s a huge potential audience for non-AAA games with 75% of respondents saying they buy digital indie titles. The top reasons for doing so are the creativity of indie games (40%), wanting to try something new (39%), their lower price point (33%) and to support smaller developers (28%).
Indie Uncertainty: Of the minority who don’t buy indie PC games, 41% cite uncertainty of whether they’ll enjoy them, 32% don’t have enough time to play multiple games, 17% prefer franchise releases and 17% feel indie games are difficult to discover.
Store Wars: Steam is unsurprisingly the PC games store that’s most familiar with gamers, followed by Epic Games Store. The best-known challenger stores are GOG (15% awareness) and Humble Store (13%) and resellers such as GamesPlanet (19%) and CDKeys and G2A (both 13%).
Discoverability: 36% of respondents find it difficult to discover new PC games to play. Gamers are most likely to discover games they hadn’t heard of before on YouTube (38%). The next most influential channels are word of mouth (34%) and Steam promotions (18%). Twitch (12%) is significantly more influential than Kick (2%).
Reviews: Remain influential with only 6% of respondents not taking them into account. Customer reviews are most influential (53%) followed by word of mouth (49%). 31% of PC gamers are influenced by reviews from media outlets.
These initial findings have been revealed ahead of Ultra releasing its full PC Gamer Study in January of 2024. To be among the first to know when the full report is released, follow Ultra on X (twitter).
Methodology
An online survey was conducted by Atomik Research among 2,003 PC gamers in the United Kingdom and the United States of America. The research panel had an even gender split (50% male, 49% female, 1% non-binary) and were all aged between 18 and 44. To qualify, gamers had to play PC games at least once a week, with 51% of respondents saying they play daily. The research fieldwork took place between October 13 to 16, 2023. Atomik Research is an independent creative market research agency that employs MRS-certified researchers and abides by MRS code.
Gaming
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Asia
Mythpat, GamerFleet, Piyush Joshi Gaming: India’s popular Minecraft Players Gear Up for the Ultimate Battle in Creators Rumble
Get ready to dive into an electrifying, one-of-a-kind gaming spectacle as India’s most talented gamers face off in the much-anticipated Minecraft tournament titled Creators Rumble, an initiative by OP Gaming, a subsidiary of OpraahFx. This event is set to bring together India’s top Minecraft creators, who will challenge each other and display their mastery over the game in a thrilling competition spanning three rounds which includes Parkour, MLG and PvP.
This event marks the first time that India’s top Minecraft influencers and gaming creators unite in an official tournament format, bringing fans and players alike a whole new level of excitement.
Divided into six teams of four members, they will face off across action-packed Minecraft rounds designed to test every skill—from strategy and creativity to adaptability and teamwork.
Mythpat aka Mithilesh Patankar, one of India’s leading Youtuber and gaming influencers, shared his excitement saying, “Creators Rumble will be a chance to bring the Minecraft gaming community closer, strengthening bonds among creators and igniting excitement for both fans and gamers. India has a huge Minecraft fanbase, and this tournament will introduce even more gamers to the fun of Minecraft.”
The inaugural edition of Creators Rumble will tap into Minecraft’s worldwide popularity, which has grown steadily since its release. In October 2023, Mojang Studios, the game’s developer, revealed it has sold over 300 million copies, making Minecraft the best-selling video game in history. Players of all ages continue to be captivated by its open-ended gameplay and limitless creative potential, where they can build worlds and structures limited only by their imagination.
Anticipating the prospects Mansi Gupta, Chief Business Officer at OpraahFx, emphasized on the industry impact saying, “India’s gaming landscape is thriving, and we believe that the nation has the potential to emerge as one of the world’s biggest pools of gaming talent. The Creators Rumble is a platform for growth, not only for seasoned players but for the entire creator economy. We’re here to support these creators as they captivate audiences with their talents in Minecraft.”
The Creator’s Rumble will see iconic players Mythpat (Mithilesh Patankar) and Gamerfleet (Anshu Bisht) showcasing some exhilarating gaming experience joined by popular gaming creators, Piyush Joshi Gaming (younger brother of popular Indian YouTuber, Sourav Joshi), AndreoBee (Naveen Yadav), MC Addon (Dipanshu Prajapati), PSD1 (Prathamesh), Harshita (Harshita Shukla), ShadowShooter (Pankaj Kumar Sahoo), I.M.Kopi (Bibek Jung Kunwar), Proboiz (Paresh Solanki), Mr Lapis (Jitender Kumar), GameBeat (Nitin Tyagi), Risible Twins (Kartik and Kunal), Yug Playz (Yug Thakkar), Agnit Plays (Vinit Aggarwal), GamerJatin (Jatin Makhija), Spunky Insaan (Harshit Nema), Pahadi Gaming (Lokesh Karakoti), DevXD (Pankaj Dev), Ro9nie (Rohan Chhabra), Sidh4rth (Siddharth), CassalFx (Shrey Patel) and Dattrax Gaming (Harvest Dewangan).
With this monumental event, OP Gaming aims to further solidify India’s role in the global gaming landscape and showcase the extraordinary creativity and camaraderie of the Minecraft community.
The tournament is scheduled to take place on November 22 (Friday) and will be streamed live on the OP Gaming YouTube channel. Six teams – Team Redstone, Team Gold, Team Emeralds, Team Shulker, Team Amethyst, and Team Diamonds, will compete in a series of thrilling challenges, vying for the prestigious title and showcasing the finest Minecraft talent in India.
Gaming
THE BATTLE OF POLYTOPIA RELEASES NEW AQUARION SPECIAL SKIN IN LATEST UPDATE
Midjiwan, the award-winning independent studio behind The Battle of Polytopia has today released a new Aquarion Special Skin, additional language options and balance updates to the recently reworked Aquarion tribe. Players will dive deep into the Ritiki Marshlands encountering a lost Aquarion outpost with the new skin known as “The Forgotten”.
Long ago, when the Aquarion Empire vanished beneath the waves. One remote outpost in the swampy atolls lost all contact, leading its inhabitants to believe they were the last of their kind. This forgotten tribe evolved in isolation, adapting to the marshy landscapes with squid-like appendages and unique abilities to command the swamp and its creatures.
Using the unique abilities of “The Forgotten”, players can build on water, summon giant squids, create speed enhancing bubbles, ride crocodiles, tame toads, and traverse their marshy terrains with ease.
In addition, the latest update to the game now offers expanded language options: Hindi, Indonesian, Malay, Polish, Thai, Turkish & Vietnamese.
Christian Lövstedt, CEO of The Battle of Polytopia, commented: “I feel that this skin is one of the best we’ve created and has quickly become my personal favourite. Additionally, we have added Bubble Tech to the Aquarion Waterways, making that tribe even greater. With expanded language options and new gameplay mechanics, we’re inviting players to dive into the rich lore and strategy that make the Battle of Polytopia truly special.”
To celebrate the launch of the new update, Midjiwan hosted an exclusive livestream event, offering fans a unique look behind the scenes, live gameplay, and discussions with the development team – the livestream is available to watch now: The Forgotten livestrea m by Midjiwan.
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