Gaming
FANDOM EXPLORES THE GROWING IMPORTANCE OF GAMING & SELF-EXPRESSION IN 2024 INSIDE GAMING REPORT
Study Provides New Insights Into How Brands Can Authentically Engage With Gamers to Help Them Express Their Best Selves Off-Screen.
KEY FINDINGS
Gaming has exploded over the past decade, becoming one of the most dynamic and expansive industries across the globe. Fandom, the world’s largest fan platform, dives into the heart of the gaming community to uncover the evolving motivations behind why people game in its 4th annual Inside Gaming report. The 2024 Inside Gaming report – a proprietary study coupled with Fandom’s first-party data from its 350 million monthly unique visitors, 45 million pages of content and 250k fan-powered wikis – captures a notable shift: gaming is increasingly seen as a means for personal expression, exploring one’s identity and providing empowerment and confidence in one’s real life.
Dominant Gaming Motivations
- While stress relief remains the top reason people turn to games, a striking 46% of gamers list creation, imagination, and self-expression as their main motivations for gaming, up 10% from last year.
Influence on Gaming Habits
- People who are gaming for self-expression, creation & imagination are 30% more likely to increase their gaming time, feeling more drawn to the gaming world than ever before.
Games Driving Self-Expression
- 60% of gamers claim that self-expression through gameplay is more important to them than ever before. Titles like Minecraft, Fortnite, and Roblox lead in enabling personal expression through extensive customization options, open-world exploration, and other game updates
Exploring Gamer Identity
- The report also highlights a significant gap between players’ in-game identities versus their real-life personas, with 80% of respondents feeling their gaming identity differs from their real-life identity.
- However, half of respondents claim they’d prefer to be more like their in-game personality IRL and 72% would feel more favorably towards brands that help them achieve this.
- This is especially true of 18-34 year olds, multicultural (specifically African American & Hispanic) audiences as well as women and non-binary audiences.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR MARKETERS
Emphasize Self-Expression:
- Self-expression is a key driver for gaming engagement. In fact, 32% of gamers want their physical appearance to be more like their in-game appearance.
- Brands that align with this motivation can enhance their connection with gamers. For example, this represents an opportunity for fashion & beauty brands to explore dedicated product extensions for gamers looking to explore this self-expression.
Create Brand Safe Spaces:
- 64% believe that gaming communities are vital safe spaces where they can truly be themselves, presenting opportunities for brands to foster and cater to these communities.
Align with Gamers’ IRL Aspirations
- Many gamers wish to integrate their gaming and real-life personas. Brands that help facilitate this integration can achieve deeper consumer relationships.
- The study found that 48% of gamers want their IRL skills to be as strong as their gaming skills, opening up an opportunity for brands to explore how they can create ways to provide gamers with products that enhance IRL skills and provide a sense of accomplishment & achievement they get while playing.
“From character customization to cosplay and content creation, video games have empowered gamers to explore, express and enhance their identity – nearly two thirds of gamers claim it’s easier to be themselves with a controller in their hands,” said Stephanie Fried, CMO of Fandom. “With the growing significance of gaming as a means for self-expression and personal evolution, it’s crucial for brands to connect to these motivators to help players bring their gaming personas to life in the real world.”
For an interview with a Fandom executive to discuss the study in more detail, please contact Rachelle Savoia at [email protected].
Methodology:
Fandom surveyed 5,000 entertainment and gaming fans globally to understand the ever changing entertainment landscape. The insights from the study were joined with proprietary insights from Fandom’s first-party platform data of over 350MM users, 45MM content pages across 250K wikis.
Gaming
Limited Run Games Achieves the Impossible: Announcing Pre-Orders for Standard and Collector Editions of DOOM(™) on the Super Nintendo™ Entertainment System!
Limited Run Games, a premium publisher of physical and digital games, announced today the opening of pre-orders for the long-awaited DOOM, arriving on physical cartridge for use with the Super Nintendo
Entertainment System!
To celebrate this remarkable release, Limited Run Games are also pleased to announce the opening of pre-orders for the SNES compatible Rumble Tech Controller, bringing vibration technology to SNES games for the very first time!
In a move that only Limited Run Games could have the audacity to pull off, the impossible became real, partnering with Bethesda Softworks to introduce a remarkable special edition of the classic game, some 30 years after the original DOOM first debuted for the SNES.
Headed up by legendary programming wizard Randal Linden, who first worked on DOOM for the SNES in 1995, this enhanced version is no mere re-release of the original. Determined to do justice to the iconic shooter which birthed the modern FPS, this new version expands upon the original with a host of new features, ‘impossible’ graphical tricks and engineering dark magic that will leave 16-bit gamers breathless with excitement!
Created utilizing an all-new, custom-made board, designed specifically for this project, Limited Run Games’ version of DOOM for the Super Nintendo, greatly enhances performance which SNES enthusiasts will scarcely believe possible. Limited Run Games have fully restored the entire DOOM experience, featuring all four episodes of DOOM including ‘Thy Flesh Consumed,’ which was originally introduced in 1995 as part of the updated PC release ‘The Ultimate DOOM’. There’s much more than that though, also included are levels that were missing from the original release due to technical limitations, with five new levels implemented including E1M6, E2M2, E2M5, E2M7 and E3M5, delivering a complete DOOM experience for the humble SNES for the very first time.
Limited Run Games ain’t done yet: In addition to the improved performance and restored levels, DOOM now proudly includes support for circle-strafe, monster re-spawning on Nightmare difficulty, an appearance by the dreaded translucent Spectre monster, full-motion video logos and so much more.
A release this special demands a new controller to take advantage of the enhanced features, and here, Limited Run Games have gone the extra mile. Pre-orders open on 7/11/25 for the SNES compatible Rumble Tech Controller (sold separately), an open-source gamepad which will feel familiar to fans of the original SNES controller but now comes complete with powerful dual vibration support! Naturally, this new version of DOOM includes rumble support, but Limited Run Games are showing love to the community, offering open-source support to developers and modders, allowing third parties to update their games to include rumble support or code new titles utilizing the feature!
Back to the game and players will take note of a new music player which has been included to relive the superb score of the game, high quality title and score-card screens added, and a Level Selection menu alongside a Level Code system, which allow gamers to tackle DOOM in the method of their choosing.
It’s DOOM that shouldn’t be possible, fusing old-school technology with state-of-the-art enhancements to deliver a thrilling new take on the iconic game.
Two versions of DOOM for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System will be available, with both open for pre-order on 7/11/25:
Doom Standard Edition – Super Nintendo Entertainment System – $99.99 MSRP
- Metallic Gunmetal Colored SNES Cart
- Instruction Booklet
- 12” x 16” Poster
- Retro SNES Box
Doom Collector’s Edition – Super Nintendo Entertainment System- $174.99 MSRP
- Exclusive Collector’s Edition SNES cartridge – Metallic-ink Gunmetal color with Blood Splatter print and Metal Plate Label
- Premium Embossed Foil Box
- Instruction Booklet
- 12” x 16” Poster
- Individually Numbered Certificate of Authenticity
- Limited to 666 copies
Pre-orders for Doom on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System go live on 7/11/25, but be quick, pre-orders close on 8/10/25. Visit Limited Run Games for more information.
The Limited Run Games SNES compatible Rumble Tech Controller will retail for an MSRP of $34.99 and will be open for pre-order on 7/11/25.
The post Limited Run Games Achieves the Impossible: Announcing Pre-Orders for Standard and Collector Editions of DOOM(™) on the Super Nintendo™ Entertainment System! appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.
Gaming
Current Games Activates the Nitro on Neon-Soaked Arcade Combat Racer: Cyber Clutch: Hot Import Nights
Current Games, a new name in indie publishing, based in the Netherlands, announced that it has assumed publishing rights for Cyber Clutch: Hot Import Nights, a heart-stopping, breakneck combat racing game, soaked in a neon lit future where speed and survival are the only routes to success!
A thrilling arcade style experience, Cyber Clutch: Hot Import Nights was first launched in Early Access on Steam in 2024, building a loyal community of dedicated fans passionate in seeing the game succeed. Current Games have heard the call and have spent a considerable amount of time diligently working under the hood, implementing a host of game-changing upgrades, delivering a fully revamped, nitro-powered experience, worthy of the Hot Import Nights (HIN) brand.
With the major update due to go live on July 24th 2025, speed demons are in for the ride of their lives as Cyber Clutch: Hot Import Nights power-ups on Steam, as well as launching on PlayStation®5, Xbox Series X|S and Epic Games® Store!
Make no mistake, this is no mere tweak, from July 24th, a whole host of surprises await fans of the game and newcomers alike. Some of the changes include:
- An all-new sprawling racing track to discover and master
- More cars mean more fun! Discover your favourite vehicles and race like your life depends on it!
- Major balancing changes based on extensive community feedback
- A new single player career mode with championship races
- Overall improvements to the game’s experience and stability
In taking over publishing for Cyber Clutch: Hot Import Nights Current Games is keen to emphasise their commitment to engaging with and supporting the community. Planned initiatives arriving soon include the reactivation of the games’ Reddit account, a new Discord server and a planned playtest scheduled for pre-launch.
In Cyber Clutch: Hot Import Nights, street legends are built after dark, as gamers brave enough to face the neon-soaked streets of the future, race, fight, and ultimately conquer with up to eight players competing head-to-head in a fight to survive and pass the winning line alive.
Each chariot in Cyber Clutch: Hot Import Nights is equipped with an arsenal of outlandish offensive and defensive weapons, enabling players to outmanoeuvre and outgun their opponents as they speed towards victory. Choose from a diverse range of customizable vehicles across three weight classes, each with distinct advantages. Lightweight vehicles boast speed but sacrifice defence, while heavyweight vehicles offer greater protection at the cost of agility. Weapons can be charged through pickups or by executing perfect drifts, adding a strategic layer to the high-speed action.
Accessible yet challenging, easy to play, impossible to put down, ruthlessly hard to master and never anything less than exhilarating, Cyber Clutch: Hot Import Nights is racing like you’ve never experienced before!
Roderick Roode, CEO of Current Games commented on the major upgrade and console release of Cyber Clutch: Hot Import Nights, “We are honoured to assume publishing rights for Cyber Clutch and determined to give this high-impact combat racing experience the love, attention and polish it deserves. Cyber Clutch has attracted a loyal audience in the year since launch, but we know the game is destined for even bigger things, and we’re thrilled to finally deliver a fully levelled-up experience, which we’re convinced will delight combat racing fans. In addition, we’re excited to bring the full Cyber Clutch experience to more gamers than ever, releasing on PlayStation, Xbox and the Epic Game Store, and cannot wait to see players assume their position on the starting grid later this month.”
The post Current Games Activates the Nitro on Neon-Soaked Arcade Combat Racer: Cyber Clutch: Hot Import Nights appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Federal Research Minister Dorothee Bär will take part in the official opening of gamescom on 20 August. This was announced today by Koelnmesse and game – The German Games Industry Association. The minister responsible for computer and video games in the German government will give a welcoming address at the opening of the world’s largest games event. Hendrik Wüst, Minister President of North Rhine-Westphalia, has also already been confirmed for the opening. During a tour of gamescom, they and other political guests of honour will gain an impression of the latest developments and trends in the games industry.
gamescom is the world’s largest and leading event for computer and video games. It brings together the international gaming community and entire games industry in a unique way, both in person in Cologne and digitally. gamescom 2025 will take place from August 20 to 24. The event will kick off on August 19, 2025 with gamescom Opening Night Live. gamescom is jointly organized by Koelnmesse and game – The German Games Industry Association.
The post German Federal Research Minister Dorothee Bär to open gamescom 2025 appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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