The Gaming Industry Today

A few decades ago, if you publicly admitted that you enjoy playing video games and you were more than 10 years old, you would be mocked and labelled as the class’ nerd. Say the same thing today and you’re just one of the 2.2 billion people around the world who contribute to the world’s largest market that accounts for 87% of the global market thanks to its $94.4 billion in revenues.

Game Cons, Live Streaming videos, E-Sport championships, Blogs and entire communities dedicated to providing a high-quality experience to the end users and thus moving the entire industry forward.

And yet, after realizing the gargantuan amount of money that flows within the market, you probably find yourself wondering where is all that money after all?

The answer is a bit more complicated than expected. Basically, an industry that big, comprises not only of customers but also of hundreds of game-developing companies and marketing companies that advertise and distribute the final product. As a matter of fact, in 2017, more than $37 billion was spent on ad campaigns while developers paid about $15 a piece to gain new customers.

So that’s where most of the money goes to. The latter are also referred to as the ‘middle man’. Keep that in mind, it’ll come in handy later on when we’ll put all the pieces together

Here’s the problem – in case you missed it 

If you’re a mainstream game-developer company such as Konami, Ubisoft or even….yes, EA; then you probably won’t need to spend money to the middle for any sort of advertisement or distribution.

‘Why that is’ I hear you asking. Well for one thing, most of those big players are usually both the developer and the advertiser at the same time. In addition, some flag games that make good reason for a sequel have got such a strong name that no advertisement is needed other than the said game’s name itself.

But what goes with the underdogs? All those smaller game-developers that are skilled enough to create a gaming worthy of a shout out but not wealthy enough to pay for the ‘middle man’?

THEY ARE DOOMED. No, just kidding. But they would definitely be in a tough position if it wasn’t for Refereum.

Refereum: A Quick Introduction

Dylan Jones, the founder of the platform and mastermind behind the curtains, is the man who saw all that and connected the dots before anyone else could – or bothered to even.

As he explains on his own introduction video, Refereum “redistributes the same marketing budgets away from corporations and towards people hence offering game developers cheaper marketing with better traffic and enabling gamers and influencers to make money playing video games”

In other words, the soon-to-launch platform hopes to create a community were developers transact their real money for tokens (the company’s new cryptocurrency) which they then pay streamers and conventional gamers as a reward for completing a tutorial, or killing a boss, or just reaching a certain level. Those rewards can vary from a cent to the equivalent million dollars in tokens, for an E-Sport prize.

So far, the project has caught on and seems to be gaining more and more ground. Twitch and Unity, two of the biggest communities in the gaming industry, have already declared their alliance and support with Dylan’s brainchild and the results are promising.

The concept behind

Taking the ‘middle man’ out of the way is not enough on its own. Refereum was also charged with the task of creating a competitive advantage that could turn it from an utopic idea to a sustainable company.

This is probably why the concept of that endeavour is bound to at least rock the boat, if not sink it for good. By rewarding gamers for completing specific tasks within each game and not just getting the game, developers ensure that their creations are generating enough money for them to not only make ends meet, but also keep rewarding the crowds.

This balances out the reach of each developer giving the chance to even the smallest of players in the industry to create plausible profits. It also helps keep the money into each game’s ecosystem, which can eventually boost the prizes or even create a plethora of E-

Sports. If you’re merely looking at numbers, that may not sound that tempting. But if you’re a gamer in your heart, then that last sentence must have brought tears of joy in your eyes.

Prediction

It’s already a popular project and as mentioned above, it’s gaining ground nearly by the hour – that’s for sure. It is also expected to live long and prosper. Refereum is not just a bubble that will pop or burst. It’s a revolutionary idea that could eventually decentralize the gaming industry and give the power back to the people. So as always, it comes down to the people.