How Can Gaming Companies Accurately Categorize Players to Give Them More Value?

Do not index

Some players are just madly in love with your game and will drop loads of money to enhance their playing experience. There’s even a name for it - the ones who spend the most are called “whales”.

If you think games are not monetizable, you should know that battle passes and premium skins can go up to tens of thousands of dollars. In case you don’t believe it, CoinTelegraph reports that a single item was sold for $130,000.

Know what’s even crazier?

The revenue collected from these items is ever-increasing with the advancements in Web3. Blockchain technologies and NFTs will make microtransactions and tokenized items ubiquitous in the gaming industry.

For example, Axie Infinity is a play-to-earn NFT blockchain game in which players can profit by using their gaming skills. As explained by Forbes, “Axie Infinity NFTs have hit $4 billion in all-time sales, as play-to-earn crypto games continue to grow in popularity.”

With such unlimited potential for monetization, it is important to understand how gaming companies can properly categorize players to provide the greatest player experience for them to KEEP ON BUYING MORE!

How can players be categorized?

Richard Bartle wrote a paper classifying video game players by their preferred actions within the game. There are four types of players:

Achievers

Those players who only care about being the best by maxing out stats, levelling up, or getting the rarest items. They are the most likely to become whales since they are willing to pay ANY price to become the best.

Recommendation: gaming companies should focus on delivering bespoke player support and access to exclusive in game events to make these players feel special and more important than others.

Prestige

They thrive on competition with other players, so they are open to paying more for a slight advantage. This could be in the form of purchasing a better item or unlocking a quest that will make them level up faster than the rest.

Recommendation: gaming firms should give these players access to beta tests of the game to beat their competition. This way, they can learn how to play while discovering advantages before the game has even launched!

Socializers

These kinds of gamers join a game to hang out with friends or meet new ones. They are great communicators, so they expect good communication back!

Recommendation: gaming companies should prioritize giving these users dedicated lines of communication and omnichannel support to feel heard and understood

Explorers

These adventurous players are mostly interested in the plot of the game. They just want to find out the backstories of all the characters and travel through all of the maps.

Recommendation: publishers should make sure that they are adapting the content and the lore to the right audience by localizing all of the content in the language and cultural background.

In summary, optimizing how much players spend is a function of their personalities and satisfaction with the game. By accurately categorizing their needs and wants, gaming companies can ensure outstanding service and the right type of player support.