With over 800 billion gaming-related views on YouTube in 2021, gaming content will only become more popular.
Not only that but there were 250 million gaming video uploads and over 90 million hours live streamed.
It’s because Gen Z loves to play video games - their favorite form of entertainment.
This blog will explore the future of YouTube gaming and what direction we should expect the platform’s algorithm to go.
Let’s dive in.
In this blog:
- Features for gamers
- What is the best content for YouTube gaming?
- Product Feedback
- YouTube Shorts Fund
- Monetization On YouTube
- What is the future of YouTube content creation
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
- Final Words
Features for gamers
Teams at YouTube have been very active in developing handy features to help gamers produce immersive streams and engage the audience.
Gaming streamers are very versatile, talented, and skilled content creators building amazing brands on the platform.
They have been very successful in leveraging features like video on demand (VOD), Live Streams, and YouTube Shorts to share engaging stories and connect with their audience on a deeper level.
Moreover, they’re also utilizing several ways to monetize their content other than YouTube ads - Super Chat, Super Thanks, Ticketing, and much more.
All these features are helping the gaming community to share and engage with the best gaming moments and experiences
What is the best content for YouTube gaming?
With a growing interest in gaming videos, the future of youtube gaming is very promising. While there is no limit to the extent of being creative, here are some ideas that have been proven to attract a gaming audience to your YouTube channel;
Gaming reviews: You can provide your opinion (for or against) about a game. For giving credible advice, you need to immerse yourself enough in the game so that you know exactly what your audience will expect from a review.
Live Stream videos: Live Streams are huge on YouTube and people are loving them like crazy. This type of content connects your viewers with you like nothing else as they’re interacting with you in real time
Gaming news: The gaming community is very active and engaging. They always respond to the news; whether it’s about a new game or the release of an anticipated game they get very excited. To engage your audience, make sure to add your opinion about that as well.
Gaming tutorials: Game lovers always run into some hard levels they can’t clear, or they might have difficulty understanding a feature of the game. Tutorials are great in helping those people with these hacks and information that can help them pass certain roadblocks.
Top 10 games: List videos are a surefire way to attract a large audience and grow your channel. From the top 10 war games to the 10 worst combat games, there are plenty of ideas to come up with and grow your gaming community.
Game analysis: Creating analytical videos, explaining your perspective of a game, or explaining the overall impact of the game, is your best chance to establish your authority and attract a wider audience.
Gaming highlights: Capturing little scenes, while doing tricky moves or achieving something very difficult, is a fun way to hook your audience and engage them. Gamers love to share fun gaming moments and little wins with the community. With YouTube content creation, gaming Shorts can grow your audience in a short time.
Preview an upcoming game: With hundreds of games released every year, giving a sneak peek of an anticipated game is a fun way to generate huge engagement and attraction. Such videos get a crazy number of views since a lot of people want to know what should be expected with the game release and what not.
Product Feedback
Since gaming YouTubers have become mainstream content creators, YouTube is closely looking at what tools and features can help them even more in the future.
Gaming has evolved dramatically on the platform for the past few years and it has pushed YouTube product developers to seek the feedback of gamers regarding gaming-centered tools.
This collaboration enables the YouTube team to get feedback from creators regarding designs and product features and adapt to their needs for an immersive gaming experience for streamers and viewers.
These feedback sessions have helped optimize features like Live Control Rooms, Membership Milestone Chats, and Super Thanks to becoming more game streaming-friendly.
YouTube Shorts Fund
Like so many other communities, YouTube gaming has also gained tremendous momentum through YouTube Shorts.
YouTube launched a $100 million Shorts fund for 2021 and 2022 to promote short-form video content on social media.
With the disruptive virality of TikTok and the unprecedented popularity of short videos, YouTube decided to reach a wider audience with short-form videos.
Many gaming creators are creating Shorts videos from their longer videos.
Fortnite player Lachlan has created a dedicated YouTube channel for uploading Shorts videos.
He turns his Live Streams and VOD content into interesting little videos and posts them on his Shorts channel. He hit 30 million Shorts views in September alone.
Monetization on YouTube
YouTube content creation has created a lot of opportunities for people to make money by monetizing their channels.
YouTube claims to have paid $30 billion to content creators in just three years (2018 to 2021).
As we’ve seen earlier, gaming streamers are the ones who were early adopters in using various monetization options provided by the platform.
Currently, there are 10 money-making options available to YouTube creators - Ads, Premium, Super Chat, Super Stickers, Super Thanks, memberships, Merch, Ticketing, BrandConnect, and Funds.
YouTube is very optimistic that there will be a lot of monetization opportunities will be provided to the creators and businesses on the platform.
What is the future of YouTube content creation?
While it’s hard to imagine video content without YouTube in the next 20 years, the platform itself has to stay relevant and entertaining.
Interestingly, YouTube has managed to remain the star of online video edutainment by following Facebook’s model - whenever something is rising stick with it.
Most of YouTube’s popular features are just copy-cat ideas from other platforms; Live Stream was inspired by Twitch, Shorts is a TikTok adaptation, and the podcast hub was taken from Apple and Spotify.
We can say that YouTube hasn’t produced a single unique and original idea so far. If it has to stay alive in the future, then the management has to start initiating innovative and original ideas to stay in the social scene.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Why did YouTube Gaming fail?
YouTube Gaming was a separate app launched in 2015, aimed at providing a content platform for gaming streamers and viewers.
The app was loaded with popular features such as channel memberships, Super Chat, and dedicated Game Pages.
The app had 11 million downloads on iOS and Android, but it turned out that people preferred to use YouTube’s main app and their website to access the game-related content.
This is why YouTube decided to discontinue the app in 2018. In its place, they have released a new Gaming Vertical on their main site which includes all the fun app features.
Can you start gaming YouTube channel in 2023?
With loads of monetization choices to encourage YouTube content creation, there hasn’t been the best time before to start a gaming YouTube channel.
The best part?
It doesn’t cost you the bank.
If you are a professional gamer or love to play online games, you’re in luck. Starting your gaming channel can be your full-time fun-cum-earning activity.
You’ll need the following tools to get started;
- Webcam or digital camera for your video feed,
- Screen capture software,
- Green screen,
- Good-quality microphone,
- Lighting,
- Video-editing software.
Are gaming YouTube channels profitable?
The answer is yes, gaming channels are profitable. There is a little investment for gaming equipment as you get started and after that, it’s all about giving time to your content creation and building an audience.
Making money on YouTube, like any other platform for that matter, is all about building influence in your niche.
If you’re building a global audience in the gaming space, it will take a longer time to build an influence. But, the time and effort you put in are worth the rewards, for sure.
With more monetization methods in the pipeline for the future, there is crazy money to be made with YouTube gaming channels.
All you have to do is be consistent and creative, and adapt to your audience’s feedback. Because they’re the ones that will guide your content strategy and win in the long run.
Final Words
With more than ever gaming creators joining the platform every day, YouTube will remain the gamers’ favorite in the coming years. Getting feedback from the community and pivoting to the needs is vital to YouTube’s growth. It’s time to hear from you, now.
Are you a professional gamer or just love to watch gaming streams?. Do you think that YouTube will be able to grow its gaming community in the next few years? Let us know in the comments section below.