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Streaming ambivalence: Livestreaming and indie game development
Felan Parker1, Matthew E Perks2
1St. Michael's College, University of Toronto, Canada.
Convergence (London, England)
|December 20, 2021
Summary
Livestreaming offers uncertain benefits for independent game developers. Despite its popularity, indie games gain minimal audience share on streaming platforms, making discoverability a complex challenge.
Area of Science:
- Game Studies
- Digital Media Studies
- Cultural Economics
Background:
- Livestreaming is integrated into game development by commercial studios of all sizes.
- Mainstream games like Fortnite and League of Legends benefit significantly from streamers.
- The impact of livestreaming on smaller, lower-budget independent games is less understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To critically examine discourses surrounding livestreaming and commercial indie games.
- To understand indie developer perceptions of livestreaming's benefits and risks.
- To analyze livestreaming's impact on indie game production, promotion, and community-building.
Main Methods:
- Qualitative research based on interviews.
- Focus on small commercial indie developers in Toronto and Montréal.
- Analysis of developer perceptions and practices related to livestreaming.
Main Results:
- Contrary to popular belief, livestreaming is not a guaranteed path to discoverability for indie games.
- Indie games capture a very small audience share on streaming platforms.
- Developers face uncertainty regarding factors driving game success and influencer impact.
Conclusions:
- Commercial indie game development is precarious cultural work.
- Indie developers are ambivalent about leveraging influencer attention due to uncertain outcomes.
- Significant time and resources are often invested in attempting to utilize streaming for promotion.
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