Gaming influencers

Computer game players have long idolized the most skilled or most vocal of their number, whether at home or the arcade, or more recently through sharing compelling or amusing gaming moments over the internet. The rapid expansion of social media platforms in the past decade, however, coupled with growing influencer cultures and practices, diverse monetization methods and sponsorship opportunities, and technologies which make the perceived distance between creator and consumer ever smaller, have all led to a transition away from early gaming “celebrities” – few in number, and having relatively little reach – towards what we would now call gaming influencers . These individuals command potentially massive fanbases online, shape follower purchasing patterns and gaming interests, build communities around themselves, contribute to shared cultural understandings about the contested spaces of games and gaming, and have ultimately become major players in the online gaming ecosystem. This chapter addresses gaming influencers in terms of who they are, what they do, and what influence they are able to wield. It stresses particularly the importance of social media platforms – especially those based around video – in the rise of the gaming influencer, and argues that we are witnessing a convergence of gaming influencers from many different areas becoming increasingly similar in their activities and their utilization of these technological and social opportunities. The chapter concludes by noting key avenues for future research into gaming influencers, and stressing the importance of understanding these individuals for a full appreciation of contemporary digital gaming culture.