The world’s biggest video game publishers are "paying popular gamers tens of thousands of dollars to play their latest releases live over the internet, hoping to break through to buyers in a crowded industry where dominant games like 'Fortnite' cast a large shadow," according to Sarah Needleman of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. Talent and marketing agents said that EA, Activision Blizzard, Ubisoft Entertainment and Take-Two Interactive Software could pay as "high as $50,000 an hour for top celebrity gamers." While smaller, independent game companies have "compensated streamers for years to publicize games, big publishers like Electronic Arts have mainly stuck to traditional ads." However, Greenlit Content CEO John Benyamine said that live-streaming now has "become too popular for even top-tier publishers to ignore." Big-budget video game launches have become "major affairs" in the $130B industry. First-week sales are "closely watched, and game companies are looking for ways to stand out -- especially as players sink ever more of their time and money into a handful of constantly updated games that don’t really ever end." The "exploding popularity of live-streaming and professional gamers such as Tyler 'Ninja' Blevins gives game companies another marketing lever to pull." Live streams "show the pros playing and commenting on games while reacting to text messages posted by viewers in real time." The paid streams are "typically labeled as sponsored" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 5/19).
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