Gaming
The future of the gaming industry: brand loyalty and retention, Exclusive Q&A w/ Achille Traore, CEO of White Label Loyalty
The gaming industry is highly competitive. Game developers only have one chance at making a user’s experience memorable. If a gaming company fails to capture user attention, customers will likely move on to another game or platform. Achille Traore, CEO of White Label Loyalty, discusses the opportunities awaiting gaming brands to create more loyal customers.
What are the main goals and objectives of brands in the gaming industry?
Most brands in the gaming industry are striving for the same thing: customer retention. The industry is well known for high engagement rates, but it’s also well known for low retention rates.
Player retention is important for gaming brands because existing customers are very valuable in the long run. It’s much easier to upsell and cross-sell to loyal users. Plus, the cost of acquiring new customers is becoming more and more expensive.
The gaming industry faces a number of challenges. What are they?
The first challenge is about engaging casual players and persuading them to play more frequently. And while there are many factors that contribute to this, including the quality of a game and the ability to market it effectively, gaming brands ultimately need to have a deep understanding of their customers.
The second challenge is knowing how to add value to a customer’s gaming experience. Not all users will find value in the same things. For one user, the value of a game may lie in the ability to customize characters with exclusive skins. For others, the value may lie in joining a community to meet other gamers.
Finally, gaming brands need to know how to break the barriers for people who haven’t gamed in a long time, or have never tried gaming before.
When it comes to gaming, how would you define loyalty and engagement?
A user that is truly engaged will spend a significant amount on in-game purchases.
Another way gamers show their loyalty is by engaging with communities via social media or forums like Reddit.
Loyal players can also become ambassadors for gaming brands. These players are more likely to engage with a brand outside of the game – they’ll spend money on equipment (such as a new console or PC), merchandise, and event tickets.
How does a gamer become loyal?
Loyalty often forms as a result of rewards. Players want to be rewarded. Whether it’s for completing a time-bound challenge, or unlocking different levels in a game, rewards add to a feeling of competition and accomplishment.
Gaming companies that reward customers for engagement can build real, long-term loyalty.
In order for gaming companies to better understand and engage their customers, what can they do?
Gaming companies must collect detailed data about their users to understand what drives them. Brands can use this data to build specific audience segments, which allows them to personalise and tailor marketing strategies to each customer profile.
Loyalty programs are an effective way to gather detailed information about user behaviour, needs, and preferences. When a gaming brand understands its customers, they can create customised rewards for each player segment, resulting in higher engagement and retention rates.
What are the best ways to reward players in the gaming industry?
With the right software, gaming brands can reward any kind of activity. For example, rewards could be given to streamers who refer games to others. Rewards could incentivise new customers to pick up their controllers again. Or, rewards can simply be used to show appreciation for those who dedicate their time and attention to a game.
Playstation Stars, a new loyalty program in the industry, rewards players for engaging with specific campaigns. Campaigns range from simply playing a game, to earning specific trophies or getting first place in a league table in your local area. Sony announced that the program uses a new type of reward – digital collectibles: “digital representations of things that Playstation fans enjoy, including figurines of beloved and iconic characters from games”.
What other opportunities await gaming brands?
With rewards, gaming companies can drive whatever specific behaviours they would like to see more of. For example, if a gaming brand wants to focus on new customer acquisition, they can build referrals into a rewards program. A fully-rounded loyalty program boosts acquisition as well as retention. While customers can do this on their own via social media or word of mouth, loyalty technology makes it as easy as possible for them to refer a game to family and friends.
There are so many different ways rewards can be used. From early access to a game, to free in-game currency, rewards help make a user’s experience more memorable and keep them engaged long-term. But rewards won’t be effective if gaming companies don’t understand what their customers actually want. That’s why it’s vital to start with data. Then, build a loyalty program that is based on what gamers find truly valuable.
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Battle of the Tribes
POLYTOPIA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2025 BREAKS RECORD PARTICIPATION AS FINALS DRAW CLOSER
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Celebrated strategy game The Battle of Polytopia confirms its first ever World Championships has exceeded expectations with over 10,000 sign-ups in its qualifying rounds. While no stranger to tournaments, previously hosting smaller scale, local tournaments called ‘Polysseums’, developer Midjiwan’s first step into global esports has been met with extreme success. The inclusive esports event has a $10,000 prize pool and will conclude on 6 December 2025, 14:00-21:00.
The finals will take place in front of a live-studio audience, with expert commentary and a chance to peek behind the scenes at Midjiwan itself. First place will receive $4,000, the runner-up will take away $2,000, the third and fourth place finishers will get $1,500, and the fifth and sixth place $500.
The Polytopia World Championship 2025 is being hosted by eSports platform, Challengermode, who Midjiwan has relied on for its monthly local tournaments since 2022. Midjiwan also partnered with Black Molly Entertainment to help organise and manage the event. Black Molly Entertainment have years of experience managing eSports tournaments, with notable events including the Geoguesser World Cup and CS:GO Pinnacle Cup Championship.
Midjiwan has worked closely with its community to ensure engagement is high with each round, building a bespoke ‘Spectator Mode’ into the game so fans can watch each game live through the game itself. In the spectator mode the viewer has visibility of all players simultaneously, with stats on how many cities, technologies, kills and more available for quick access.
Christian Lovstedt, CEO of Midjiwan commented:
“Polytopia has always been about welcoming all kinds of players into the world of 4X strategy. That’s why our championship is open to everyone – not just pros with sponsors. We’ve been thrilled at the amount of interest this tournament received from our community, reaching participation numbers way beyond our expectations. We’re excited to bring the finalists to Stockholm and can’t wait to see the strategies that emerge.”
The Polytopia World Championship 2025 kicked off in September, with its ‘Battle of the Tribes’ qualifying round – weekly battles where players competed to be the best in each of the game’s 12 tribes. After an exciting six weeks, the top player from each tribe faced-off, reducing the qualifiers to six finalists. These six winners are listed down below.
|
Tribe |
Qualifying Player |
|
IMPERIUS |
ArthurL248 |
|
BARDUR |
slimmingboy |
|
OUMAJI |
Dreamlander3000 |
|
HOODRICK |
Theetat |
|
XIN-Xi |
LeLiberateur |
|
LUXIDOOR |
Meisterlampe |
Recaps of each round of the tournament prior to the finals can be watched on the official Battle of Polytopia YouTube channel.
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Part 1: Polytopia World Championship 1st Qualifiers Wrap-Up – BARDUR, IMPERIUS, KICKOO, ZEBASI
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Part 2: Qualifiers Wrap-Up – Oumaji Hoodrick Yadakk & Quetzali – World Champoinship 2025
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Part 3: Final Qualifiers Wrap-Up – Xin-Xi, Luxidoor, Ai-Mo & Vengir – World Championship 2025
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Face-off stream: https://youtube.com/live/GnU6mWPoJiY?feature=share
To watch the finals live on December 6,visit here: https://polytopia.io/stream/
To stay up to date on the Polytopia World Championship 2025, or purchase one of the limited tickets for the live event, visit the official website or join the Official Polytopia Discord.
The post POLYTOPIA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2025 BREAKS RECORD PARTICIPATION AS FINALS DRAW CLOSER appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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Leading iGaming supplier Delasport teases a one-of-a-kind sports betting crash game called Betiator – a new in-play experience that merges live sports with the tension and excitement of crash games.
Inspired by the groundbreaking casino genre, the company once again pushes the whole industry to a new phase in evolution by allowing sports bettors to play in the same easy and fun way as fellow casino players. Crash games are booming in the casino world, showing that players crave more emotional, fast, and visually engaging formats – and Betiator brings that same adrenaline-charged energy to the sportsbook.
It changes the scene by introducing a truly innovative way to bet on sports, keeping players at the edge of their seats during the game. Designed to excite both sports bettors and casino players, it marks a defining moment for innovation.
This product comes as a logical next step in the evolution of live betting and the company’s goal to disrupt the iGaming industry. It demonstrates Delasport’s successful commitment to unique innovation: a strategy they call “Going Beyond Content” –building on the success of products and features like SuperPot, My Sportsbook, My Combo, Double My Winnings, and many more.
“Sports bettors deserve the same level of innovation and excitement that casino players get all the time,” Delasport’s CEO Oren Cohen Shwartz says. “At Delasport we’re taking the whole game to a new playing field with Betiator. Live betting won’t feel outdated anymore as we’re bringing in the thrill of the casino to sports betting.”
While details about Betiator remain under wraps for now, Delasport promises a completely new way to experience live sports. Operators and partners eager to see it in action can schedule exclusive demos and discover more at ICE Barcelona 2026, taking place January 19–21, where Betiator will make its official debut.
The post Delasport Unveils a Crash Game for Sports Betting appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Central Europe
game’s 2026 industry barometer – the mood in the German games industry is beginning to brighten
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The post game’s 2026 industry barometer – the mood in the German games industry is beginning to brighten appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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