How user-generated content is shaping the future of gaming and media

Transmedia storytelling is booming — just look at how the popularity of Five Nights at Freddy’s game-native IP exploded, or the success of video games based on movies, like the most recent Indiana Jones title. On the other end of the ecosystem, the world of user-generated content (UGC) is growing, with audiences in the hundreds of millions consuming content created by players themselves, or by modders.

“Seeing these worlds intersect and start to think about the tools that are necessary, the economic models necessary to facilitate fandom translating to content creation through mods, is really exciting,” says Nicholas Tuosto, founder of GoodGame Advisors. “Especially the power of these IP translating to that engagement and fandom, really creating new experiences.”

He spoke with Uri Marchand, CEO and co-founder, Overwolf, Nate Spell, founder and CEO, Barrier Four and Eugene Evans, SVP, digital strategy and licensing at Wizards of the Coast, about their IP and UGC strategies at this year’s GamesBeat Insider event: “Blurring Boundaries: The Convergence of Film, Music, TV, and Games.”

Evans works with world-class developers and publishers to create games across WoC’s diverse portfolio of IP: everything from Dungeons and Dragons and Magic: The Gathering to Monopoly, My Little Pony and Mr. Potato Head.

“We have embraced, as part of that strategy, exploring the world of UGC very broadly,” he explained. “We really do believe that it’s part of the fabric of how you can successfully — both commercially and in terms of enabling fandom — bring IP to the world and to the fans that want to be able to interact within these universes.”

Empowering fans and keeping IP alive

UGC is unique in its power to extend the lifespan and engagement of games compared to traditional content updates. The tools and creation pipeline available to users make it easier than ever to deploy content into the game in a way that’s safe and moderated, Marchand says, in sharp contrast to the lengthy and expensive pipeline of a studio release.

“With UGC they create something that people want to consume. It expands and invites everyone to participate,” he explained. “They can create with those tools, reach high quality, high fidelity, brand consistency in a very short time frame.”

Playable media bridges cinematic storytelling and interactive gameplay in fascinating new ways, Spell said.

“We took Michael Scott and the other characters and Robloxified them, put them within the world of Roblox in a way that players recognize and resonate with and obviously enjoy,” he said. “There’s a few opportunities.”

Step one is recreations, like The Office characters. Step two is dropping that into an existing game or an existing integration. Making it actually playable and immersive takes it to the next level and offers a deeper way to connect with the audience.

“We’re still early on in how we’re approaching this, but Roblox is excited, players are excited, and brands are excited about what’s possible with something like playable media,” he added. “The endgame is, we get it to a point where the actions the players take determine the way the story goes.”

Protecting the value of IP

When IP like Power Rangers is inserted into Ark, it has to be done in a very high-quality way that’s authentic, and completely follows brand guidelines. But it’s a whole different ballgame when you invite third-party creators to interact with your game and your IP. These creative engagements by modders and developers wanting to build on an IP raises the issue of IP value, and how to protect it. UGC offers a huge amount of freedom to fan imagination, but there is always the need to draw a line, Evans said.

“As IP holders, we’re always trying to make sure that there are, to a certain degree, guardrails and protections around what can be done with that IP. There are always limits,” he said. “You have to be willing to give up a certain degree of control, but ultimately the value is there.”

For instance, modding specifically has allowed people to come back and revisit Baldur’s Gate in ways Larian could not have predicted — and yet these mods remain respectful and true to the D&D-based world of the game.  

But there are also cases like the role-playing server for Grand Theft Auto, where the content is often edgy, and sometimes perhaps steps over the line, Tuosto says, but the game studio is responsible only for the original IP and can’t necessarily be held accountable for user generated content.

“I think this goes back to the question of authenticity,” Evans said. “Certainly, if any corporation were seen to try to execute some of these ideas that fans do on platforms like TikTok, it wouldn’t be taken seriously. That’s why the influencer community exists and works, because it’s fans saying, ‘Look at what I did with this content,’ almost in the face of the corporate oversight.”

Platforms like TikTok and YouTube extend the concept of UGC, offering a place for things like mashups and re-cut footage and a hundred other ways a fandom expresses a love of a product.

“As long as it’s done in that regard, we should embrace it and try to relinquish control as much as we can,” he added.

The evolution of a business model

UGC is hardly a new concept — almost 20 years ago players were making entirely new levels for Quake, with no economic incentive. Their core motivation was the community that formed around the game. But today, the dynamic has shifted: Many studios believe that if someone invests time and energy to create, and others are enthusiastically paying for that content, that work should be compensated.

“The single north star we have for the company is how much our creators earn,” Marchand said, pointing to an Ark creator who made about $50K selling mods. “It’s one of the things we celebrate internally. This is exactly the future we envisioned. The more we provide these tools and monetization capabilities, integrate brand experiences into these games, get in front of the community in a very fun and authentic way, creators are going to get paid.”

Overwolf paid creators $200 million just last year, and the growth overall in the industry has been extraordinary. But while UGC almost always adds longevity to the tail of what’s otherwise a premium product that may have spiked and dropped off, many UGC platforms are still struggling with creating an effective and predictable business model that allows for the monetization of content.

“We continue to experiment to try to understand what’s working on those platforms,” Evans said. “But it’s still difficult for a corporation to look at it and say, okay, can we predict this in the way in which we currently can with other platforms and other businesses? We’re not quite there yet.”