Games as a Service (GaaS) is presented as ongoing monetization after launch, using titles such as Candy Crush, Fortnite and World of Warcraft. Marketers are told to copy the constant content cadence rather than the one-week launch spike.
- Why it matters: in-game content is called the true revenue generator once the opening weeks shrink as a share.
- How it works: gaming marketers sit with developers so campaigns are ready before big product changes.
- Case in point: Mountain Dew trades product codes for add-ons or virtual currency, then adds a gamer drink and loyalty program.
- The bottom line: Butterfinger's limited Twitch mini-game is the second D2C pattern the article flags.
While the gaming industry isn’t new, it is constantly evolving, and not just in the number of offerings or the increasing number of players.
Driving this evolution and completely changing the landscape of the industry itself is the business model known as GaaS, or Games as a Service.
Simply put, GaaS is the new way to monetize the gaming industry.
And it’s working. Just look at the likes of Candy Crush, Fortnite, and World of Warcraft.
It’s obvious by now that this model also includes a winning strategy when it comes to engaging and retaining customers.
Marketers are beginning to recognize this and looking for ways of how to implement successful components of GaaS into their own marketing strategies.
What they are finding is that brands need to start by rethinking their content marketing strategies and giving customers more choices.
Keep reading this blog post to learn more.
4. Flexibility in Content Creation (It’s all about Content!)
Content needs are continual in the GaaS business model, and the right content can make all the difference when engaging and retaining customers.
In the past, marketers were tasked with creating content around the launching of a product (game), and this is where the majority of revenues were generated, usually within the first few weeks after release.
With the GaaS model, marketing efforts extend further, requiring a constant supply of new content.
Game revenue in the first few weeks following the launch now accounts for a small percentage of the overall total, and in-game content is the true revenue generator.
Marketers in the gaming industry stay updated on the newest in product development as it’s happening, sitting alongside developers to gain knowledge ahead of big changes.
Armed with this knowledge, they can build a roadmap or plan for content development and find ways to share the news.
By doing so, players feel valued and excited about what is to come.
For those players who have left the game, these marketers also have a plan to lure them back. By keeping them updated on any changes and additions to the product, they stay curious and aware so that they may return one day.
While creating content to retain your customers and to lure those back who have left, you also need to expand your marketing strategy to attract new players. GaaS marketers are excelling at this as well.
Let’s be honest, sometimes it’s not the flashy graphics or cutscenes pulling players back—more often, it’s the little updates, those quirky events, or spontaneous collaborations that weave a sense of ongoing life into the game. Destiny 2, for instance, keeps things interesting with limited-time events and twists, occasionally even pulling in folks who haven’t logged in for months just to see what’s changed. There’s a real art to balancing these novelties so they don’t overwhelm longtime players, but instead make things feel fresh without being, well, chaos.
I’ve heard from a couple of community managers who practically treat player feedback as a daily ritual, using Discord or Reddit not just for damage control, but to float weird little ideas or test concepts before they launch. It’s not always about surveys or formal beta testing—sometimes it’s about watching a meme take off, or a simple request that snowballs into the next patch note. This sort of ongoing dialogue keeps these games less like isolated products and more like evolving, unpredictable worlds, which—if you ask me—explains a lot of the ongoing magic around GaaS.
Another strategy for increasing revenue is to continually add new content and require payment for players to access. In other words, they are monetizing new content instead of focusing on the old content.
For example, Fortnite releases seasonal content that players can purchase, keeping players active and in anticipation of what that new content will be each season.
