3 minute read
Licensing comes of age in Gaming
With the games industry now worth more than the movie and music industry combined, it was only a matter of time before it started to challenge more traditional media’s influence in the realm of licensing as well.
Despite the industry’s billions of dollars and ever-increasing cultural reach, licensing in the games industry had some less-than-inspiring beginnings, often limited to licensed games - video games based on existing properties - which produced interesting experiences like “The Office: The Video Game” and “Barbie Horse Adventures”. Now though the tables have turned, with industry shifting from producing games based on toy franchises to producing toys based on game franchises - for example, Fortnite, Overwatch and Animal Crossing all now sport their own lines of toys and collectibles.
The key difference today in video games licensing is the difference in mass market appeal. While video games have created merchandise for their most devoted fans for decades, often under the banner of “collectables”, we’ve only recently seen multiple games franchises shift their merchandise to the mass market. Toys and collectables are now just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to video games, with apparel, accessories and even home decor all proving to be lucrative revenue streams for those franchises investing in them. with an estimated total lifetime revenue of $95 billion. This success can be recognised across video games, a trading card game, movies, multiple ongoing TV series and of course merchandise - which accounts for the majority of its impressive financials.
This broad approach allows video game franchises to appeal to a wide range of players who have their own ways of playing games and different levels of investment in the franchises. This allows licensed products to have appeal beyond the traditional “hardcore” fanbase. The type of gamer interested in completionism has been an obvious target for items like collectables, but those whose gaming focus is more social or exploratory will seek out different ways to connect with the franchises they love. This is why the industry, collectively, has started to see not only more mass market merchandise from the gaming space, but also cross media ventures like the Witcher Netflix series or the Warcraft film, which appeal to not only current players, but also to people who may not even be aware of the games they are based on. These ventures are the tip of the iceberg in understanding the interest in worlds that video games create, often transcending the games themselves. At Jagex we’ve had significant success in licensed novels set in the world of Runescape from Titan Books, our Strategy Card game and our official commercial release of RuneScape’s award-winning soundtrack for the first time with Laced Records, but even these only scratch the surface of what is possible today.
This increase in the value of video game licenses isn’t just as a result of more people playing video games, but it is part of a broader cultural shift. “Geek culture” is becoming “mainstream”. For instance, there has been a big increase in the proportion of people seeking out more ways to engage with the fantastical worlds and characters that gaming has given us beyond just the in-game experiences. The best example of successful licensing in video games is the Pokémon franchise, a mixed media juggernaut
People will always invest their time and money in the things that bring them closer to their friends and their passions, but video games are in a unique position to give people ways to create deep communities and even lifestyles through engagement and play.
Licensing plays an integral role in amplifying these relationships and experiences beyond the games themselves, and we are entering a golden age of possibilities and opportunities for how license holders will work with their players, communities and partners to make this happen.
