The flourishing gaming ecosystem
Gaming hubs are online platforms where gamers can play and buy videogames. But there is much more than that… users can come together to play, discuss, and share their experiences, in addition to reading news, watching videos, and streaming esport tournaments. For telcos, gaming hubs offer a unique opportunity to engage with customers and provide them with an immersive gaming experience. By creating a gaming hub, telcos can offer their customers exclusive gaming content, rewards, and promotions. This, in turn, can lead to increased customer loyalty and retention.
Mobile gaming has experienced explosive growth in recent years, with the number of mobile gamers expected to reach 2.3 billion by 2027 (Statista). This growth has had a significant impact on telcos, as it has increased the demand for high-speed internet and mobile services. With gaming hubs, telcos can provide gamers with a seamless gaming experience by offering high-speed internet and low-latency connections.
To fully understand the importance of gaming hubs for telcos, it is essential to understand the gaming ecosystem. The gaming ecosystem consists of gamers, game developers, publishers, and other stakeholders. By creating a gaming hub, telcos can become an integral part of this ecosystem.
“In a gaming hub, telcos are looking for four things: 1. a flexible solution that adapts to their specific needs, 2. a strong content proposition with big titles, 3. some kind of exclusivity regarding configuration or content and 4. a service with gamification to engage and retain users”.
Paola Caretti (Senior Manager for White Label Solutions and Go-To-Market)
The role of telcos in the gaming industry
Traditionally, telcos have been viewed as providers of internet and mobile services. However, with the rise of gaming hubs, telcos can become more than just service providers. By creating a gaming hub, telcos can become an active participant in the gaming industry by providing gamers with a unique and engaging gaming experience.
The benefits of gaming hubs for telcos are numerous. First and foremost, gaming hubs provide telcos with a new revenue stream. By offering exclusive gaming content, rewards, and promotions, telcos can generate significant revenue from their gaming hub. Additionally, gaming hubs can increase customer loyalty and retention by providing gamers with a unique and immersive gaming experience.
The future of gaming hubs for telcos
The future of gaming hubs for telcos looks bright. As the gaming industry continues to grow, telcos will have even more opportunities to generate revenue from their gaming hub. Additionally, advancements in technology, such as 5G, will enable telcos to provide gamers with even faster and more reliable internet and mobile services.
On the same level, esports have become a massive industry, with revenue expected to surpass $3 billion by 2027 (Statista). By leveraging esports, telcos can generate significant revenue from their gaming hub. For example, telcos can sponsor esports tournaments or offer exclusive esports content on their gaming hub. Additionally, telcos can partner with esports teams or players to increase brand awareness and customer loyalty.
“The gaming hub concept takes on the true meaning of an aggregator of services and content, covering the wide spectrum of typologies that the market represents, to create a value proposition for telcos. From PC players to casual mobile gamers, early adopters of cloud gaming solutions or esport lovers, this premium content becomes accessible through a convenient subscription model”.
Enrique Galán (Product & License Manager at Digital Virgo)
Monetization and alternative payment methods
There are several monetization strategies that telcos can use to generate revenue from their gaming hub. These strategies include in-app purchases, subscriptions, and advertising. By offering exclusive in-game items, subscriptions to premium games, and targeted advertising, telcos can generate significant revenue from their gaming hub.
To make in-app purchases and pay for subscriptions, carrier billing is especially relevant in the gaming market. With certain carrier billing services, the payment process is streamlined as the system automatically detects the user’s phone number when they choose carrier billing, instantly populating the required payment details. This allows for the completion of a one-tap purchase, with the user only needing to confirm the purchase, making it an optimal choice for recurring payments on mobile devices. This convenience ensures that a player engaged in a mobile game can make purchases without exiting the game app, thereby prolonging playtime and potentially leading to increased expenditure.
In the realm of mobile gaming, carrier billing plays a crucial role, representing 51.4% of the total consumer spending via this payment method (Juniper Research). This highlights the significant influence that developments in the gaming, and specifically the mobile gaming sector, can have on the carrier billing industry. Telcos find in DCB the perfect opportunity to both increase their revenue and build loyalty within their customer base.
Why do Telcos need a Gaming Hub?
In conclusion, gaming hubs are a valuable tool for telcos to engage with customers and generate new revenue streams. By creating a gaming hub, telcos can offer gamers a unique and immersive gaming experience while increasing customer loyalty and retention. With the rise of esports and advancements in technology, the future of gaming hubs for telcos looks promising. To stay competitive in the gaming industry, telcos must embrace gaming hubs and the opportunities they provide.
If you’re a telco looking to create a gaming hub, contact us to learn how we can help you unlock new revenue streams and engage with customers.
