Kicking off our Leadership Insight series in the High Scores newsletter, we had the pleasure of speaking with M. Chad De Luca, Director of Brand Partnerships at Overwolf.
His insights set the stage for more expert conversations to come, as we continue to dive into the evolving landscape of gaming and marketing. Stay tuned for more!
For years, advertisers have focused on reaching gamers through livestreams of influencers playing video games. While this approach has scale, today’s polarizing climate and incidents of streamers going off-script raise valid concerns about brand safety. The question is: What about marketing to the gamers who are actually playing? It’s time to shift focus from passively watching to actively engaging. Gamers themselves—and the creators building in-game experiences—offer a massive opportunity for brands to connect credibly without the risks tied to live-streamed content.
Here are my predictions for 2025:
- Real-World Commerce Integration:
Brands will reward players directly for engaging with in-game content while driving tangible IRL outcomes. Imagine a Fortnite mission where players unlock a limited-edition virtual item tied to your brand, which they can then purchase in real life. Or a Roblox activation where completing a quest leads players to exclusive merchandise drops. This will seamlessly connect gaming engagement with real-world sales and moves away from the outdated cheesy rewarded video. Rewarding users for doing what they like to do matters.
- Elevate In-Game Creators:
Fortnite’s creative mode and GTA’s modding community have reshaped the gaming landscape, with players building immersive, personalized experiences.
- Fortnite UEFN maps offer brands flexibility to create their own maps. Traditionally, creating these maps demanded significant development hours, often leading to underwhelming engagement with empty maps. However, 2025 brings a big change: deep linking. This new feature allows brands to directly guide players to their Fortnite maps.
- GTA6, poised to become the biggest video game launch in history, will likely lean heavily on its modding ecosystem.
By partnering with these creators to build branded quests, events, or even entire in-game worlds, brands will embed themselves in gameplay, fueling organic engagement and community-driven buzz all while maintaining brand safety.
- Safer Advertising in Gaming:
By prioritizing activations that take place while gamers are actively playing, brands avoid the risks of live-streaming influencers where unpredictable moments can lead to backlash. Instead, campaigns embedded around active gameplay allow for full control over messaging and alignment with a brand’s values.
This approach lets brands interact with players in their element—whether through challenges/quests, branded environments, or exclusive rewards—ensuring a positive association. It also enables brands to scale their efforts across games like Roblox, Fortnite, Minecraft, and GTA, tapping into millions of engaged players without compromising brand safety. The great news is there are brand-safe and yet cost-effective options to be able to do this in 2025.