Before we dive in…
This time of year a lot of PR, community, and marketing teams are busy looking ahead, considering which events to attend, and when and where to make their big announcements. The summer window presents a prime opportunity to get your game in front of players, press, and influencers, with dozens of physical and digital events. With so many options, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. We’re here to help, as the Evolve Insights team once again dove into oceans of data to fish out a treasure trove of key points in order to chart a course for future event planning.
This study is a shortened version of a much larger, in-depth analysis of 45 showcases from the summer 2023 showcase season, encompassing events that took place between May 24 and August 31. With it, we hoped to determine the overall performance of notable showcases, as well as identify several approaches to how a game should be positioned for the next showcase season and beyond.
Basically, is being featured at one or several summer showcases worth it? Let’s find out.
Methodology
Data collection relied on searches using Boolean operators within Meltwater, along with a one-week search window for each title, starting from the showcase in which they participated. The search parameters included both the event and game name across all titles to guarantee consistency. As this is the shortened version of a much longer study, some data and context may be omitted.
For a more detailed breakdown of both our data and methodology, please refer to the full study, which provides a more thorough analysis of the data we collected.
The Study in a Nutshell
Press Coverage
Coverage Numbers
The 45 showcases analyzed for this study generated over 70k+ articles covering 991 unique game titles, representing a significant increase over last year’s 31 showcases, which presented a total of 759 games and resulted in more than 46k articles.
In terms of coverage numbers, PlayStation Showcase, Summer Game Fest, Xbox & Starfield, gamescom Opening Night Live, Ubisoft Forward, and Nintendo Direct generated the most articles and were responsible for 81.7% of total coverage.
Chart 1 – Total Coverage by Event
Across the almost one thousand games showcased over the summer, only 33 games earned more than 500 articles. 25 games received 48.81% of total coverage, with the other 966 titles comprising the remaining 51.19%. Starfield was a standout title this year, receiving more coverage than the bottom 803 games combined.
Chart 2 – Game Titles That Generated Over 500 Total Coverage
Games Social Echo
Social echo is determined by total direct shares on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and Reddit. As with coverage numbers, Starfield and Spider-Man 2 remained the top two games. However, the rankings (see chart 2) shifted slightly, with titles like Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Sengoku Dynasty and Baby Steps appearing in the list.
Chart 3 – Top 10 Games by Total Direct Social Shares on Twitter, Facebook, and Reddit
Coverage numbers alone do not determine a game’s appeal, represented here with social echo demonstrating variance in audience interest. Even if a game doesn’t get as much coverage as its counterparts, metrics like social media presence and direct shares may be capable of influencing future media attention and elevating a game’s visibility.
Live Stream Viewership & Watchtime
Out of 45 events, we collected live-stream viewership and watchtime data for 37 of them from owned channels.
Peak Viewership
Chart 4 – Top 20 Events by Peak Live Viewership: YouTube and Twitch-Owned Streams
On YouTube, only 7 out of 37 showcases surpassed 100K in peak live viewership, with the average and median peak viewership for the remaining 29 showcases hovering around 11K and 4.3K, respectively.
On Twitch, overall peak viewership was lower than on YouTube. Summer Game Fest earned the top spot with 242.7K peak viewers, in contrast to YouTube’s top peak of 796K viewers for PlayStation Showcase. The median peak viewership for the top five Twitch streams was 168K versus YouTube’s median peak of 442K for the top five streams.
Watchtime
Chart 5 – Top 20 Events by Watchtime Hours: YouTube and Twitch-Owned Streams
Unsurprisingly, big publishers, namely PlayStation and Xbox, commanded the most unique viewers and watchtime during the showcase season, with the notable exception being Summer Game Fest.
Audience Peaks
Chart 6 – Median Peaks in Audience by Time as Percentages (grouped every 5%)
For a more in-depth breakdown of Chart 6, please refer to the full study, which also considers peak viewership tendencies for events of varying lengths.
Basically, this chart displays how peak viewership fluctuates over the duration of a showcase. If a stream was 1 hour long, viewership tended to peak 21-24 minutes into the event, with a secondary peak occurring between 42-45 minutes into the stream.
At the beginning of a showcase, average viewership tended to be less than 85% of the peak audience. This means that if an event peaked at 200K viewers, games shown within the first three minutes of a one-hour showcase may have fewer than 153K viewers watching during that specific timeframe. Overall, games featured closer to the beginning of a show seemed to have the lowest live viewership.
In essence, for shorter showcases (90 minutes and less), games placed after the first 15 minutes and before the last 5 minutes may have the best results in terms of potential viewership. Meanwhile, for longer showcases (90 minutes and more), the best placement tended to be after the first 15 minutes and before a show’s halfway point, especially for events that ran for over 3 hours.
Steam
Chart 7 – Game Follower Growth in Raw Numbers Starting from Event Day (as provided by SteamDB across 7 days)
Our biggest takeaway from Steam follower growth data is that numerous games that generated fewer than 500 articles still experienced significant follower increases. Titles like Black Myth: Wukong (328 total articles) and Armored Core VI (144 articles) both ranked in the top five in terms of Steam follower growth. These results, like social echo, show how audience interest may differ from media interest, with four of the top five titles in this list not breaking 500 total coverage.
Chart 8 – Game Follower Growth in Raw Numbers for Games Starting From Event Day (as provided by Social Blade)
When looking at individual titles, Street Fighter 6 dominated the rest in terms of Twitter account growth, with an addition of 413.14k followers during a seven-day period. The list of titles present in this list also varies from the previously shown charts, with many games showing notable Twitter growth despite generating low coverage numbers.
Combined Comparative Analysis
Below, we have condensed most of the data presented in this study into a single chart, providing a visual representation of how the top seven showcases compare to each other in terms of the six data points we considered.
Chart 9 – Top 7 Showcases Divided by Data Segment
Overall, when it comes to coverage and watchtime, PlayStation Showcase came out on top. Outside of first-party showcases, Summer Game Fest provided the largest boost across categories. For Steam follower growth, gamescom Opening Night Live saw the strongest jump, with Summer Game Fest and PC Gaming Show delivering strong numbers, as well. Finally, with Twitter followers, Nintendo Direct provided the biggest boost to many featured games, surpassing other showcases in that regard.
Conclusion
This summer showcase season featured 991 unique game titles, a 27.9% increase compared to 2022, with 57.51% of games generating fewer than 10 articles, an increase of 3.51% compared to 2022. The 2022 event season had 759 game titles, which already felt like too many for media and consumers to pay attention to, a factor that was largely exacerbated in Summer 2023.
Does Attending A Showcase Make Sense?
Just as in our 2022 study, it depends, but here are a few points to consider:
Have a Strong Asset or Big Reveal
Securing placement in a publisher or first-party showcase increases the odds of seeing media coverage and Steam follower growth, and yearly cornerstone events like Summer Game Fest and gamescom Opening Night Live are also very likely to yield positive results. That being said, with the sheer number of games being featured, standing out with a great video asset or significant announcement is important in order to break through the noise.
Consider Money & Placement
Many of the best-performing events are either invite-only or have hefty costs. Additionally, time placement during the show can also affect your game’s visibility, as peak viewership trends indicate a lower number of viewers at the beginning of a showcase and near the end of longer events. Inquiring about an event’s planned run time and mentioning placement when discussing participation may prove beneficial.
Follower Growth
While the seven showcases we identified may be the best overall performers according to our analyzed data points, shows like Guerilla Collective, Wholesome Direct, Future Games Show, Awesome Indies Shows, Future of Play Direct, and Day of the Devs all made it among the top 15 showcases for Steam follower growth, indicating that participation in other showcases can still develop strong traction with consumers.
Social Engagement
In terms of social metrics, attending any summer showcase may still be viable. Your game may not have gotten much coverage or Steam followers, but could still garner strong social media interest, a key stepping stone to expanding your game’s audience for future marketing beats.
What About Skipping All The Shows?
While events provide platforms with thousands (or tens of thousands) of viewers, it does the same for all the other games you’ll be competing against. Carving a more opportune window after the noise from events dies down may provide better reach and impact when well executed, particularly if it’s followed by a key activity such as an open beta.
And while we did see more activity compared to last year, July generally tends to have more available windows for attention, so pushing any activities to this period can make sense depending on the planned beat and the game’s current state during its campaign.
Thematic Steam sales or other digital events, such as Steam Next Fest, LudoNarraCon, and many other selections that appear throughout the summer are also still valuable options. While they may not always result in significant media coverage, these events present direct-to-consumer opportunities that can help create a grassroots push, which can then lead to strong wishlist and Steam follower growth.
Only One Path Among The Many
We aimed to present an overview of the overall picture. While showcases are certainly worthwhile in the right situation, they’re not the only solution to creating a thriving promotional campaign. Social media presence, influencer marketing, and direct-to-consumer strategies are other key components of a successful campaign.
And hey, if you don’t want to think about any of this, consider hiring a gaming-focused PR, community, video production, and research agency to help. We might know one (hint: it’s us!)
Note: If ever you would like to see the full study, just let us know at [email protected], and we will gladly send it your way 🙂
Written by Avery Di Soriano, Cassandra Campbell, Christophe Garlaschi, Gustavo Alvarenga, Poe Chuang, Stephanie Groves, and Vanessa Tolentino