Influencer Marketing for Console and PC Games: The Complete Guide

Influencer marketing for console and PC games means using popular faces in the video game industry to promote your products or services. The global gaming industry is currently valued at over $520 billion. By 2029, it will exceed $691 billion and influencer marketing is one of the ways to tap into that number.

Many gamers today trust influencers over traditional ads because they’ve built a brand around perceived honest opinions. However, identifying these personalities and the large audience who trust their opinions is just a tiny part of the puzzle.

In this guide, we'll provide a full picture of what video game influencer marketing is all about.

4 Benefits of Gaming Influencer Marketing

There are approximately 3.32B active gamers in the world today. Video game influencer marketing gives publishers an opportunity to engage them with authenticity. Below are the four benefits for gaming brands:

1. Increased Brand Awareness

With thousands of releases yearly, partnering with influencers is crucial if you want to be seen. A recent survey by BGM Game shows that most gamers find new titles through social media. 

This makes sense because the leading gaming influencers have a passionate following. Ninja, for example, has at least 15M followers on Twitch. 

2. Improved Brand Perception

The trust factor between influencers and followers is powerful. Apex Legends reached 25M players in its first week of release due to strategic partnerships with creators. 

When influencers recommend PC or console games, their followers pay attention. In fact, they are at least 50% more loyal to influencers they love.

3. Higher Engagement Rates

Many influencers share their own in-game experiences. Some can film themselves playing for 8–10 hours straight, and sometimes even more. This timeframe encourages real-time interactions, which build stronger engagement with fans.

4. Driving Sales and Downloads

A study by Google and Ipsos MediaCT reveals that gamers are 1–1.5 times more likely to make purchases. In 2017, for instance, Slay the Spire sold just 2,000 copies in its early weeks. 

After sending out keys, one popular Chinese streamer streamed the game on Twitch. This not only boosted sales, but it also made Slay the Spire the second best-selling title on Steam at the time.

Top Platforms for Video Game Influencer Marketing

Successful influencer marketing for PC and console games extends beyond creators. It's crucial to choose the right marketing channel and harness its unique strengths. These are the seven top platforms for marketing games in 2025:

1. Twitch

Twitch is the leading streaming platform for video games in terms of viewership. In 2024, it made an estimated $1.8 billion in revenue. At least 20B hours of content was consumed by 240M monthly viewers the same year. The audience is primarily 70% Millennials and Gen Z between the ages of 18 and 34.

Statistics provided by Amazon show that 65% of Twitch viewers are unreachable via traditional marketing. This makes it highly suitable for video game influencer marketing. Twitch influencers are also known to recommend each other's channels for more visibility.

2. YouTube

YouTube has the largest social media advertising audience globally. It reaches 2.5 billion users per month, with a solid gaming engagement rate of 0.78%. Across 12 genres of YouTube content surveyed, gaming has the most passionate audience.

Research proves this, as gaming viewers are 53% more loyal than average users. This strong connection makes the platform ideal for promoting games through influencers. It also offers a wide range of content, including gameplay footage, tutorials, reviews, and walkthroughs. 

For brands, this is a positive since it allows personalized campaigns for specific audiences.

3. TikTok

The potential audience for influencer marketing on TikTok is estimated at 1.092M. As of 2024, 16% of the global audience were women between 18 and 24. Males of the same age group made up about 19%. TikTok is especially suited for short, punchy gameplay clips that spark instant engagement.

It has a vibrant influencer community with creators willing to create sponsored content. Several gaming hashtags have been very successful on the app. 

The #TikTokMadeMePlayIt promotion, for example, exceeded 160M views. Analysts predict that given the current growth rate, the platform’s ad revenue will reach $33.1 billion in 2025.

4. Facebook Gaming

Compared to Twitch, video game influencer marketing on Facebook isn't as big. However, Facebook Gaming benefits from Meta's vast user data. It also offers strong live engagement, which is great for sponsored streams and community-driven content.

According to Statista, there were 2B+ active users on the platform in 2024. At its peak, Facebook Gaming has recorded viewerships of over 1.2B hours of streaming content. Among the top streamers, three stand out. They are Strawhat TV, Akosi Dogie, and Tarboun.

5. Twitter

The engagement rates for gaming content on X trail behind video platforms like TikTok and YouTube. But it's a great option for brands that want to amplify real-time campaigns via influencer tweets. Although ad revenue is expected to drop to $2.7 billion by 2027, it succeeds in shareable gaming content.

Twitter’s audience are mainly old-school gamers (Millennials and Gen X). Influencers farm engagements using hashtags, short gameplay clips, industry news, and other viral content. The platform also offers excellent analytical tools for real-time performance tracking during campaigns.

6. Roblox

Roblox is a gaming platform and social sandbox all in one. Influencers can connect with players in-game, which makes it ideal for mobile and metaverse game launches. The platform has 380M+ active users monthly, giving creators a wide base for direct-to-player engagements via UGC and events.

As of Q2 2024, there were 2.5M developers on Roblox who made over $400 million combined. The audience are mainly young people, with reports indicating that 58% are under 16. At least 17B hours of engagement were recorded on the platform in 2024 and it's projected to grow further.

7. Instagram

Instagram has a highly engaged user base, with over 1B active users monthly. It supports sales-oriented marketing that lets brands sell video games directly to players. This can be by creating an Instagram shop for creators to link to, or including shoppable links on posts and reel ads.

The content engagement rate on Instagram is 3.15%, which is the highest among platforms in 2025. Each month, gaming ads reach as many as 1.6B users through photo and video sharing.

Factors to Consider when Choosing a Video Game Influencer

Here are the four key factors to note before picking the right influencer for your campaign:

1. Type of Influencer

While it's good to focus on influencers who are experts in the game's genre, their audience size also matters. Follower counts are grouped into five categories, namely:

• Mega influencers (over 1M followers)
• Macro influencers (100K to 1M followers)
• Mid-tier influencers (50K to 100K followers)
• Micro influencers (10K to 50K followers)
• Nano influencers (1K to 10K followers)

2. Type of Content

Video game streamers often specialize in specific genres and platforms. Each brings a unique engagement style that should align with your campaign goals. These are the most common content types in video game influencer marketing:

• Gameplay walkthroughs, often interspersed with personal insights and humor. YouTube influencer Markiplier is known for this.
• Live gameplay streaming, which allows interaction with viewers in real-time. Pokimane is one of the top streamers on Twitch, known for her engaging streams.
• Game reviews or critiques that objectively analyze story, graphics, mechanics, and gameplay. AngryJoeShow is a YouTube influencer whose in-depth reviews give players an honest take on games.
• Pro-games and eSports content, focusing on highly skilled games. Ninja's content on Twitch perfectly captures this.
• Role-playing content, where influencers dress up and act like game characters. YouTube sensation Jessica Nigri is popular for bringing game characters to life.
• Educational content, guides, and how-to tutorials for competitive games. The GameLeap channel on YouTube helps players improve game skills in titles like Dota 2 and Overwatch.

3. Relevance

High follower counts mean nothing if the audience isn't interested in a game. It's best to follow a phased approach by starting with niche influencers who are experts in a particular genre. 

Once you've achieved some momentum, reach out to creators in related genres. The final phase involves partnering with influencers who offer a wider reach for maximum visibility.

Here are some tips to consider before initiating the three-phase approach:

• Check the recent games that the influencer has talked about or played lately.
• Look into the genre and theme of games the influencer focuses on.
• Check the type of games they play (mobile, PC, or console).

4. Authenticity

The fourth and final factor to consider is how authentic the influencer is for a successful campaign. You can determine this by analyzing their performance metrics with the following data points:

• Average views over the past 30 to 60 days.
• Average concurrent views (CCV) on their last 20 streams.
• Engagement rates.
• Activity record to determine how often they post content.

Working with a Video Game Influencer

Before partnering with a video game influencer, it's necessary to set clear expectations. This includes defining objectives and catering for performance metrics upfront. With this level of preparation, you can achieve two things. 

There's better alignment between brands and influencers, and it also enables accurate campaign analysis. Here are two ways to work with influencers:

• Directly reaching out.
• Using a gaming influencer agency

Directly Reaching Out

You can send emails and follow up with a DM on social media. If needed, you can also send a private message on Discord. The contact information of many gaming influencers is available in the “About” section on their profiles. 

Using a Gaming Influencer Agency

Factors like market saturation, content priorities, and timing can make it hard to reach influencers directly. To bypass these setbacks, seek out a gaming influencer agency to simplify the process. Many agencies offer full-service campaign management and access to a database of influencers.

Conclusion

Using influencers to promote your console or PC game is a no-brainer for gaming studios and independent publishers. Influencers help brands stand out from the competition by creating more visibility and engagement.

Indie studios and AAA developers have benefitted from it, and you will too with this guide. You can also use more video game marketing strategies together with influencer marketing to reach more players and nail your game user acquisition.

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