Introduction: How COVID-19 accelerated gaming activity
Gaming and streaming were already on the rise before the COVID-19 pandemic. However, with the onset of stay-at-home orders, this trend has accelerated exponentially. Viewership on Amazon-owned Twitch, the live-stream gaming platform, increased 50% between April and June, and Facebook Gaming saw an even larger increase, though off a smaller base. Because consumers are seeking new platforms for entertainment, marketers looking for effective and efficient communication channels have increasingly turned to platforms that were once considered exclusive to the gamer community. In this article, we explore gaming trends and how they affect...