10 Overlooked Ways ALL Video Game Studios Could Improve
6. Steer INTO "Leak Culture", Not Away
When you get as big as an EA or Activision, you have a reputation to uphold. Every little detail that makes its way online with your stamp on needs to be immaculate - from a trailer to a tweet. Screenshots doctored to within an inch of their lives, airbrushed like the latest teen pop sensation on the cover of Heat.
A marketing director once said to me, “I hate leaks [...] nobody wants to see ugly unfinished stuff”. I totally disagree - the damage is in the leak itself, not the content. I’ve found gamers tend to enjoy seeing more of a game they’re highly anticipating, even if that content is unfinished or a little rough.
The leaks themselves are what’s most damaging, because of what’s at stake - normally they occur just before a large announcement (stakeholders sitting at the ready) - all it takes is one little Reddit eejit looking for their ten minutes of internet fame leaking an off-screen photograph to ruin it all.
However, if studios were a bit more relaxed and eager to show off even spotty, unfinished content, it would eliminate the constant, damaging leaking, and gamers would get to enjoy being kept in the loop.