Molly Joseph

We interviewed leaders at Roblox, Innersloth, Xbox, Loaded, Riot and Dreamhaven to get developers' thoughts on working with creators. A few key points:✍️ What worked in the past, won’t work in the future Apex Legends launch circa (2019) is often cited as the high bar in a creator “blitz” strategy. While undeniably effective at the time, most devs don’t have the luxury of large marketing budget to match the now known value of a creator’s time. This is similar to the lowering efficacy of trying to mimic VALORANT’s Drops campaign - what was the exception now feels like the norm. Innovate, don't replicate. Engage creators FAR before the launch I’m thrilled every time I see examples of this. Advising, playtesting, first looks + reactions, basically anything “off-camera”. @shroud / @sacriel / @YoniGinsberg @spalshdamage are a shining example of this to the extreme level. Creators who are experts in a genre and can therefore inform, advise, and ultimately invest their knowledge of a honed AUDIENCE to meaningfully influence game decisions. Even behind closed doors creators aren't singular voices and are the mouthpiece for thousands of others. @mollybot and the 2XKO team are doing smart work to playtest over the span of YEARS to find wider appeal to all types of FGC communities You MUST be a match for the creator's audience This is incredibly well said by @victoriatran. I find it important to think at the atomic level. Something as small as understanding if a creator is solo vs someone who plays with a crew of friends can be a make or break detail in whether that person wants to work with you and more importantly has a GOOD TIME creating content around your game. The more you understand this, the more paid marketing can appear organic. Spend more time watching content than looking at spreadsheets, it'll always pay off. Massive S/O to our contributors: Alex Beck, @AliMiller, Arturo Castro, @jeffrubenstein, @heyGuhRL, @mollybot, @TheVTran, @YoniGinsberg