Are content creators more important than players?

General Discussion
1

So yeah!! I know we are just getting “soon” statements

So no, i personally dont see a good reason for the game being at its worst state ever.

-We would like to have more detailed info of whats going on with the future, i mean, you have content creators under NDA and they are exited, why cant all the comunity have the same information?, i mean, we understand you dont want to compromise with dates and things you wont deliver, but ¿why content creators have information that player base dont?

So… i could continue and repeat all the things that other posts have been complaining, but i think my main concern is the lack of good comunication with players, please share with us whats the plan, why we should be excited about the game and not just “soon” or more excuses about why you guys cannot talk about it, you guys are working on a sequel no one asked for, so i think you guys should share with all of us whats going on… Content creators are really important for the game, the cuestion is, are they more important than players? Cause they are getting info we dont.

I´d like to clarify there is nothing against CMS, but we want answers and i personally think we have to be vocal about we dont like and ask for answers!!

dont you?

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2

Unfortunately, whoever’s in charge of marketing and decides when to share info believes that radio silence for years-months on end is the best way to go about promoting Overwatch 2.0, for some reason?

Sure, roadmaps can be 50-50, but at least should give a general idea as to where they are in development? Frankly, with what’s been shown so far of the game, I wouldn’t expect a full, complete release until Summer or Fall of 2023. Assuming the game lives up to being this “grand and expansive experience” that they keep saying it’s going to be?

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3

If you can drive the popularity of the game, then one is almost certainly more important than any other player.

From a company perspective that is.

4

Better to remain silent and thought a fool, than to open your mouth and prove it.

Especially given that they are having some serious issues internally and nothing they say will be accepted by the infants that inhabit this forum and reddit.

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5

It’s a fair question.

The nature of the relationship between us and creators vs. us and the broader community is essentially apples and oranges. Our team (community) views content creators as professional partners, and we manage that relationship similar in nature to how we view our relationship with other business partners.

The difference is, these business partners have tied their success to not only the game, but also the community. We’ve been focusing on building trust and confidence from the creator community, improving communication, giving lead time so that they can prepare content to be ready in way that’s coordinated with our announcements and major news, and creating regular check-ins with both the community team and T4.

Their needs are very different, but ultimately everyone benefits if we have a better relationship with content creators. Players get timely content from their favorite channels, creators feel confident in building their audience and community with us, and our announcements and major beats have a better chance of the message being shared farther and broader.

I want to acknowledge that I understand folks who disagree with this approach, and 5 years ago, the way the industry viewed content creators was very different. Today, it’s to our benefit to treat them as trusted partners whenever possible.

To directly address some of the common feedback I’ve seen;

  • a desire for more frequent updates: this is something I’ve heard loud and clear. Not much more to say here other than you all saw Mike’s tweet yesterday.
  • to hear news at the same time as content creators: for several reasons, this isn’t feasible. Content creators, whenever possible, need additional lead time to create videos, write scripts, and line their schedules up with our communicated embargo dates. I’ve laid out some of why this is important above.

Moving forward, I’d urge folks to think of our relationship with the OW Creator Community as part of our publishing planning, just as our own videos, blogs, and messaging planning is. Working with creators to make sure official OW news is spread far and wide, throughout our global community.

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6

i dont think it should be a question at all tho?

shouldnt EVERYONE be important :face_with_raised_eyebrow:

i dont mind tho. i mean if you think about it makes sense to have a representation type of a whole community

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7

It’s not a zero sum question.

Players are important
Content creators are important

The way we serve the needs of these groups are different.

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8

This is very fair. Their literal jobs are to create content, and the OW Team are supporting them with better resources, which is great for them. They’ve especially been struggling over the last couple of years to stay motivated to do this job, so I completely understand why this meeting and other things happen with them.

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9

Very well said. For a pvp multiplayer game like overwatch, you need content creators to expand the audience and attraction of the game so new players will want to try the game, and give more depth to the community

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10

Their needs are the same as the players cause at the end of they day they are just players with an audience. Just because they make a video about the announcement doesn’t mean that the players need to be kept in the dark for months while they get to know what’s actually happening.

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11

What it boils down to is that Blizzard feels content creators bring in more moola and the regular customer does not. They have our money; getting new accounts are more important to them. So, Blizz doesn’t care if normal customers leave when the content creators have a potential of bringing in more new players. Cha-Ching!

It is what it is.

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12

People probably wouldn’t be bothered as much if we hadn’t have gone all this time with practically nothing. Most people are losing faith, they’re tired, fed up, frustrated, etc. Literally everyone was in the same position CC and community alike. Then the CC get information that apparently makes them feel like OW is saved and this is the year. But the rest of us are still here like :neutral_face:

So even though we’re (the rest of the community) still in the same position, and after what happened yesterday :sweat_smile:, at least CC still know what’s to come. So they can have hope.

People are just fed up of being in the dark.

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13

Yes. Content creators have a better working relationship with the game developers (of multiple studios) and their content has much further reach than Lloltic on the OW forums does. You, me, and most other people here are nobodies.

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its funny…cause its similar to a comment someone made a while back (andy?) about how OW2 is being made for “not us” essentially…which people immediately threw a tantrum over…

but its like you just said…they HAVE us already…the business interest lies in the people that DONT play the game…grabbing the attention of the “potential” playerbase

that doesnt mean we arent important btw

15

Respectfully, this just isn’t true. The average player’s financial success doesn’t hinge on their relationship with the developers of any given game.

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16

Probably should delay those embargo dates further. The current state of things is incredibly unfair for us. It feels awful being left in the dark when other people are making tweets saying how they know stuff we don’t :frowning:

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17

I totally agree with what you’re saying here Andy, however:

Why do Content Creators need information months ahead of the community? I totally understand giving them a few days notice or even a week but months seems like an excessive amount of time for video preparation, unless of course, they need to prepare for something of significant magnitude.

Another gripe I have is how they were given permission to state their feelings on this but not what it actually is. This may be unpopular but in my opinion, the community were better off not knowing anything at all, because by letting creators express their excitement, they simultaneously make many players feel left behind and out of the loop. I get you guys were trying to build hype but I personally feel it backfired.

BTW thanks Andy for this direct communication about communication. It’s really awesome to better understand your constraints and justification for decisions. :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

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18

When the game first came out and people made content they still had audiences and found success without needing the devs to give them private information. People just had to read the patch notes when they came out, or discuss leaks and dev announcements. They didnt use to need to have a relationship to stay relevant they just had to play the game and be entertaining.

I will also add, all this ends up doing for some is build resentment towards these content creators if they’re not a fan of them. It doesn’t help to have them bragging on social media about how they know more than the general populace does.

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I want to be very clear that the forum community isn’t made up of nobodies. Jodie and I devote a significant part of our weeks solely to forum interaction and feedback gathering.

It’s been great to get to know all of you over the last several months. Even the folks who like to consistently hold our feet to the flame are valued and respected, and I really look forward to the day we can finally meet some of you all, whenever events like BlizzCon end up returning.

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Not really. Most content creators complain about the same stuff normal players do. OWL players probably matter a lot more since their complaints tend to result in actual changes.

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