AAA Video Games are just Marketing Case Studies

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If you haven’t yet, check out my conversation with Cameron Mulvey from Sute. He shared some of the biggest, and most enjoyable, challenges of being a first time founder.

The recent reveal trailer of Grand Theft Auto 6 has me thinking about how strong the marketing function of AAA gaming publishers are, and unfortunately, how the games are often not so great anymore. Let’s dive in!

-Welty

The Landscape of AAA Gaming

AAA gaming companies are the household names that even non-gamers are familiar with. Think of titles like Call of Duty (Activision-Blizzard), World of Warcraft (Activision-Blizzard), FIFA (Electronic Arts), and Grand Theft Auto (Take-Two Interactive). These companies have been around since the dawn of the industry and, even today, capture a lion’s share of the profits, revenues, and cultural intrigue.

Budgets to develop these major franchise titles have swelled over the past 10-15 years, and yet, many gamers feel the products are not nearly as enjoyable as they once were. Let’s take a look at some of the recent big releases, and the user-base reaction.

Faltering Releases for User Satisfaction

Diablo 4

Even with larger budgets, successive iterations of many large gaming titles are increasingly seen as lower quality. Recently, Activision-Blizzard released the long-awaited 4th installation to it Diablo franchise: Diablo 4. I’ve been a life-long fan of this series and do play this game. I first played Diablo 2 as a child, and as a slightly-older child I became obsessed with Diablo 3. The 3rd game formed the foundation for some of my closest friendships even to this day. However the hardcore, typically loyal audience (of which I more or less belong) has not been pleased.

Call of Duty

Another game that held a strong place in my youth, and in the minds of many, has faltered in recent years. Increasingly derivative releases are a likely driver of this, as the last 3 titles are remakes of games from the early 2010s and the difference between the three is very minimal.

In compiling the user scores of Metacritic (a popular review site for games), the trends are pretty clear: the newer games of these famed franchises are not as enjoyed by the player base. It is worth noting that negative reviews are often louder, and gamers tend to be quite loud, but the trend is still evident.

Increasing Sales

Despite increasingly mediocre products, unit sales continue to grow for these large franchises. As gaming becomes more and more popular, these companies have increased their marketing capabilities to help drive sales to all-time highs.

Marketing Power Houses

AAA publishers have become better marketers than game developers over the past decade. From 2013-2022, Activision-Blizzard increased its yearly sales & marketing expenditure by 72% to almost $900bn. Using a specific game as an example, the 2022 release of Call of Duty, development costs for the game were ~$45m, and marketing costs reached $160m.

Outside of looking just at the marketing expenditures, the marketing teams for these games have truly mastered staying culturally relevant. Two examples from this year highlight this: Diablo 4’s billboard campaign, and more recently, Grand Theft Auto 6’s (GTA6) much awaited trailer.

Diablo 4 in the weeks before its launch plastered billboards all over New York City advertising the release. I happened to be there for this campaign, and it made me quite excited (you can ask my girlfriend, I took a video of her next to one, much to her delight). What really sent this viral, though, was the (planned??) timing of the billboards with NYC’s wildfire smoke. Unsurprisingly, the campaign went viral on twitter and the game crossed the minds of even more potential consumers.

Just this past week, GTA6 released its much anticipated trailer, which captured more than 90 million views on YouTube in 24 hours, breaking the previously held record of Mr. Beast. What really exemplifies the marketing talent at play in this ad is that the team recreated viral videos of Floridians doing crazy things (classic). Once outlets discovered this, or were given the scoop from Take-Two, the trailer went even more viral. I mean, look, I’m even reposting it here for you all to see. Powerful!

What does this mean for gamers?

Unfortunately, I don’t expect the trend of the past ten or so years to reverse. Gaming publishers know they have a strong formula of leveraging formerly great franchises, investing capital into increasingly sophisticated marketing campaigns, and releasing under-developed, un-innovative games to the masses. I wouldn’t be surprised if GTA6 isn’t all that it’s hyped up to be. Despite this, there is some hope. Bauldur’s Gate 3 released this year after many years in development, and was very well-received (and sold) without much marketing expenditure comparably. Additionally, indie game developers have more tools and sales distribution channels at their disposal than ever before and are still interested in making great games. But, when we look at AAA publishers, we should start viewing them for what they are: innovative marketers capturing the cultural pulse, not innovative game developers.

Have additional thoughts? Connect with me on Twitter or message me on LinkedIn and let’s chat about it! Make sure to share with your friends too if you enjoyed it.