As game makers look to enlist creators to promote and market their new releases, creator programs have become an important source of value for all involved.
At GamesBeat Summit in Los Angeles earlier this week, a group of key stakeholders behind last year’s Borderlands 4 creator program took the stage for a 30-minute panel discussion about the importance of creator programs in building genuine advocacy relationships with content creators of all sizes during the lead-up to big releases. The panel was moderated by yours truly, and speakers included 2K senior manager of influencer and creator marketing Joshua Maresca; Jennifer Zall, the director of creator strategies at Gamesight, the agency that helped organize the program for 2K; and YouTube creator and program participant Jonathan “Totally Tubular Jonathan” Friedenberg.
“There’s a huge fan base that we really wanted to service and make sure that they had a voice in the campaign, and felt really included,” Maresca said during the panel. “Gaming creator programs, for us, is something that we’re really passionate about, and Borderlands is not going to be the first, and it’s not going to be the last.”
The goal of the panel was to break down the strategy behind the Borderlands 4 creator program, as well as its measurable benefits for both the game maker and participating creators. Zall came prepared with the numbers, sharing that the program had over 1,200 creators, with Gamesight vetting over 5,300 applications to ensure all participating creators met the company’s quality standards. In total, the program resulted in over 4,500 pieces of content. She shared images showcasing the wide variety of content produced by participating creators, which ranged from cosplay photos to videos and custom artwork.
“We were careful with that part of this, because if your program gets too big, the sense of exclusivity, and that VIP feel, is just immediately gone. We want to also make sure that any of the rewards or the personalized support is up-to-par with the amount of creators, and sometimes scoping that can be difficult,” Zall said during the panel discussion. “I think the number one thing is that we want the creators in the program to feel very supported and valued, and if everyone gets access just because they asked for it, that doesn’t have that same exclusive feel.”
Maresca flagged positive community sentiment as a strong metric that 2K had used to measure the success of its creator programs, with 2K collaborating with Gamesight to develop a strategy to keep participating creators excited and engaged.
“A lot of the publishers can live or die by Steam reviews, and surprisingly, a lot of the Steam reviews are creators — because creators are players, too,” he said. “So, we just wanted to go to the epicenter of that and build that trust with our IP.”
Friedenberg praised the Borderlands 4 creator program for giving him an unprecedented amount of access and support, allowing him to keep his audience informed and motivated to play the game. Compared to some other publishers who simply hand out keys and disappear, he said 2K provided sustained communication about game patches, downloadable content and other important news throughout the duration of the program, encouraging him to genuinely advocate for the game, rather than simply act as a paid promoter.
“I think it’s done a great job of creating advocates for this,” Friedenberg said during the panel. “You’re taking fans, and you’re making them die-hard, lifelong fans by giving them these opportunities — by letting them share in their passion.”