Gaming content creators across Europe express willingness to cover games without payment, but only when brands demonstrate genuine understanding of their channels, according to new survey data from YRS TRULY, a marketing agency and a certified B Corporation.
The research, based on responses from 109 gaming creators with a combined following of around 12.4 million, reveals significant gaps between how publishers approach influencer marketing and what creators actually want from brand partnerships.
Most Creators Work Part-Time, Handle Own Communications
Only 30.3% of surveyed creators produce content full-time, while 49.5% balance content creation with full-time employment or education. Another 20.2% split their time between part-time responsibilities and content production.
Despite their busy schedules, 92.7% of creators operate without agency representation and monitor their own email inboxes. The data shows this pattern shifts once creators reach one million followers, at which point they become far more likely to delegate email management to agents.
A total of 95.4% of creators surveyed check their own email regularly, making direct outreach viable for publishers and developers. The survey included creators primarily from the UK and Ireland (65.1%), with additional representation from Europe (15.6%), North America (7.3%), and South America (4.6%).
Organic Coverage Remains Viable for Publishers
The research indicates 90.8% of creators consider games pitched without paid sponsorship offers. Only 9.2% of respondents reported they “very rarely” or “never” explore organic opportunities.
Among creators who do play organically pitched games, 29.3% do so “all the time,” 36.7% “often,” and 24.8% “occasionally.” Combined, 66% of creators regularly produce content about games pitched to them without financial compensation.
When asked what motivates them to consider an email pitch, creators most frequently cited games similar to titles they already covered. Most also expressed openness to unfamiliar titles, provided the game aligns with their audience’s interests.
Platform Distribution Favors Short-Form Content
YouTube and Twitch dominate as primary platforms, accounting for 68% of surveyed creators. YouTube represents 39.3% of primary platforms, while Twitch accounts for 29.9%. TikTok and Instagram comprise 15.8% and 15% respectively.
For short-form content, which 89% of respondents produce, platform preferences spread more evenly.
TikTok leads at 44.8%, followed by Instagram Reels at 29.2% and YouTube Shorts at 26%. Creators
frequently repost content across multiple platforms to maximize reach without extra work.
Content Focus Varies Widely Across Creator Base
Variety gaming emerges as the dominant content focus, with creators regularly switching between games and genres. The survey also captured representation from specialized categories, including indie gaming, story-driven games, collectible card games, simulation, tabletop roleplaying games, strategy, cosplay, and competitive gaming.
Content formats split between mostly short-form, mostly long-form, and mostly live streaming. The survey acknowledges potential overrepresentation in certain genres, particularly collectible card games, due to YRS TRULY’s existing relationships with creators in those categories.
Personalization Ranks as Top Priority for Pitches
Creators identified three primary factors that make pitches stand out. Audience fit ranks first, with creators prioritizing games that align with their community’s interests. Genre match follows, as creators seek games similar to content they previously covered. Personalization completes the top three, with generic mass emails identified as immediate turnoffs.
One creator with 1.5 million followers stated that nearly every email received from companies offering games to try appeared “soulless, impersonal and clearly don’t have a clue what I do in the first place.”
Another creator with 81,000 followers noted that email openings should acknowledge what the creator currently plays or recently played. A creator with 111,000 followers emphasized the importance of clear information about game genre, key features, and differentiating factors to quickly gauge fit.
Sponsorship Rates Show Universal Flexibility
The survey reveals 100% of creators express willingness to negotiate rates. Among respondents, 65.1% describe themselves as completely flexible on rates, 27.5% negotiate within 20% of their initial quote, and 7.3% negotiate within 50% of their quote.
Additional data shows 65.9% of creators offer different rates for indie projects, particularly when strong audience alignment exists. Creators indicate they charge lower rates when games fit their content well, when they have positive existing relationships with publishers or developers, and when project scope and requirements are clearly defined.
Factors prompting creators to charge above their standard rates include unfavorable timelines, unclear direction, brands wanting to repurpose creator content, knowledge that extensive budgets exist, and when projects feel designed to fulfill quotas rather than genuine partnerships.
Notably, 81.3% of creators do not increase rates when agencies handle outreach versus direct publisher contact.
Sponsorship Income Does Not Dominate for Most
Only 29.6% of creators report that sponsorships account for the majority of their content creation income. Regarding frequency of paid brand work, responses spread across categories: “all the time,” “occasionally,” “very rarely,” and “never,” with no single category representing a clear majority.
The data indicates 70.7% of creators rate their concern about community reaction to sponsorships at 7 or higher on a 10-point scale. The average concern level registers at 7.8 out of 10, suggesting creators prioritize audience trust over financial compensation.
Events Generate Strong Interest with Caveats
Nearly all surveyed creators expressed interest in attending publisher or developer events, particularly local ones. However, expectations around compensation vary. The breakdown shows 36.7% will attend local events for free, 33.9% require covered travel and accommodation, 21.1% will attend for free even covering their own costs, 6.4% will not attend any events, and 1.8% only attend if paid.
Combined, 36% of respondents expect some form of financial compensation for attendance, including travel and lodging coverage. One creator with 1.5 million followers noted that time and travel represent lost revenue and delayed projects, characterizing event attendance as work rather than vacation.
Project Management Issues Drive Rate Increases
Creators identified several red flags that trigger rate increases or project cancellations. These include box-ticking approaches where creators feel used to fulfill diversity quotas, unreasonable timelines, late code delivery, unclear project direction, and unfair contract terms.
One creator with 49,000 followers reported backing out of a campaign due to contract clauses described as “abysmal.” Another creator with 765,000 followers stated that intricate and slow payment processes led to declining future work from the same partner.
Additional concerns include unresponsive communication, reputational risks associated with controversial brands or those using generative AI, and sponsors who appear unfamiliar with the creator’s work. A creator with 15,000 followers described declining deals where sponsors seemed “completely unresponsive, unwilling to answer questions or seemed like they had no idea who I was.”
Experience Levels Span Broad Range
The survey captures creators with varying levels of experience. Nearly half (48.6%) report more than five years of content creation experience, 29.4% have three to five years, 11.9% have one to two years, and 10.1% have less than one year of experience.
Creator size distribution shows 44.9% have between 1,000 and 10,000 followers, 26.5% have 10,000 to 50,000, 9.2% have 50,000 to 100,000, 10.2% have 100,000 to 500,000, 4.1% have 500,000 to 1 million, and 5.1% exceed 1 million followers.
Dragomir is a Serbian freelance blog writer and translator. He is passionate about covering insightful stories and exploring topics such as influencer marketing, the creator economy, technology, business, and cyber fraud.
Gaming content creators across Europe express willingness to cover games without payment, but only when brands demonstrate genuine understanding of their channels, according to new survey data from YRS TRULY, a marketing agency and a certified B Corporation.
The research, based on responses from 109 gaming creators with a combined following of around 12.4 million, reveals significant gaps between how publishers approach influencer marketing and what creators actually want from brand partnerships.
Most Creators Work Part-Time, Handle Own Communications
Only 30.3% of surveyed creators produce content full-time, while 49.5% balance content creation with full-time employment or education. Another 20.2% split their time between part-time responsibilities and content production.
Despite their busy schedules, 92.7% of creators operate without agency representation and monitor their own email inboxes. The data shows this pattern shifts once creators reach one million followers, at which point they become far more likely to delegate email management to agents.
A total of 95.4% of creators surveyed check their own email regularly, making direct outreach viable for publishers and developers. The survey included creators primarily from the UK and Ireland (65.1%), with additional representation from Europe (15.6%), North America (7.3%), and South America (4.6%).
Organic Coverage Remains Viable for Publishers
The research indicates 90.8% of creators consider games pitched without paid sponsorship offers. Only 9.2% of respondents reported they “very rarely” or “never” explore organic opportunities.
Among creators who do play organically pitched games, 29.3% do so “all the time,” 36.7% “often,” and 24.8% “occasionally.” Combined, 66% of creators regularly produce content about games pitched to them without financial compensation.
When asked what motivates them to consider an email pitch, creators most frequently cited games similar to titles they already covered. Most also expressed openness to unfamiliar titles, provided the game aligns with their audience’s interests.
Platform Distribution Favors Short-Form Content
YouTube and Twitch dominate as primary platforms, accounting for 68% of surveyed creators. YouTube represents 39.3% of primary platforms, while Twitch accounts for 29.9%. TikTok and Instagram comprise 15.8% and 15% respectively.
For short-form content, which 89% of respondents produce, platform preferences spread more evenly.
TikTok leads at 44.8%, followed by Instagram Reels at 29.2% and YouTube Shorts at 26%. Creators
frequently repost content across multiple platforms to maximize reach without extra work.
Content Focus Varies Widely Across Creator Base
Variety gaming emerges as the dominant content focus, with creators regularly switching between games and genres. The survey also captured representation from specialized categories, including indie gaming, story-driven games, collectible card games, simulation, tabletop roleplaying games, strategy, cosplay, and competitive gaming.
Content formats split between mostly short-form, mostly long-form, and mostly live streaming. The survey acknowledges potential overrepresentation in certain genres, particularly collectible card games, due to YRS TRULY’s existing relationships with creators in those categories.
Personalization Ranks as Top Priority for Pitches
Creators identified three primary factors that make pitches stand out. Audience fit ranks first, with creators prioritizing games that align with their community’s interests. Genre match follows, as creators seek games similar to content they previously covered. Personalization completes the top three, with generic mass emails identified as immediate turnoffs.
One creator with 1.5 million followers stated that nearly every email received from companies offering games to try appeared “soulless, impersonal and clearly don’t have a clue what I do in the first place.”
Another creator with 81,000 followers noted that email openings should acknowledge what the creator currently plays or recently played. A creator with 111,000 followers emphasized the importance of clear information about game genre, key features, and differentiating factors to quickly gauge fit.
Sponsorship Rates Show Universal Flexibility
The survey reveals 100% of creators express willingness to negotiate rates. Among respondents, 65.1% describe themselves as completely flexible on rates, 27.5% negotiate within 20% of their initial quote, and 7.3% negotiate within 50% of their quote.
Additional data shows 65.9% of creators offer different rates for indie projects, particularly when strong audience alignment exists. Creators indicate they charge lower rates when games fit their content well, when they have positive existing relationships with publishers or developers, and when project scope and requirements are clearly defined.
Factors prompting creators to charge above their standard rates include unfavorable timelines, unclear direction, brands wanting to repurpose creator content, knowledge that extensive budgets exist, and when projects feel designed to fulfill quotas rather than genuine partnerships.
Notably, 81.3% of creators do not increase rates when agencies handle outreach versus direct publisher contact.
Sponsorship Income Does Not Dominate for Most
Only 29.6% of creators report that sponsorships account for the majority of their content creation income. Regarding frequency of paid brand work, responses spread across categories: “all the time,” “occasionally,” “very rarely,” and “never,” with no single category representing a clear majority.
The data indicates 70.7% of creators rate their concern about community reaction to sponsorships at 7 or higher on a 10-point scale. The average concern level registers at 7.8 out of 10, suggesting creators prioritize audience trust over financial compensation.
Events Generate Strong Interest with Caveats
Nearly all surveyed creators expressed interest in attending publisher or developer events, particularly local ones. However, expectations around compensation vary. The breakdown shows 36.7% will attend local events for free, 33.9% require covered travel and accommodation, 21.1% will attend for free even covering their own costs, 6.4% will not attend any events, and 1.8% only attend if paid.
Combined, 36% of respondents expect some form of financial compensation for attendance, including travel and lodging coverage. One creator with 1.5 million followers noted that time and travel represent lost revenue and delayed projects, characterizing event attendance as work rather than vacation.
Project Management Issues Drive Rate Increases
Creators identified several red flags that trigger rate increases or project cancellations. These include box-ticking approaches where creators feel used to fulfill diversity quotas, unreasonable timelines, late code delivery, unclear project direction, and unfair contract terms.
One creator with 49,000 followers reported backing out of a campaign due to contract clauses described as “abysmal.” Another creator with 765,000 followers stated that intricate and slow payment processes led to declining future work from the same partner.
Additional concerns include unresponsive communication, reputational risks associated with controversial brands or those using generative AI, and sponsors who appear unfamiliar with the creator’s work. A creator with 15,000 followers described declining deals where sponsors seemed “completely unresponsive, unwilling to answer questions or seemed like they had no idea who I was.”
Experience Levels Span Broad Range
The survey captures creators with varying levels of experience. Nearly half (48.6%) report more than five years of content creation experience, 29.4% have three to five years, 11.9% have one to two years, and 10.1% have less than one year of experience.
Creator size distribution shows 44.9% have between 1,000 and 10,000 followers, 26.5% have 10,000 to 50,000, 9.2% have 50,000 to 100,000, 10.2% have 100,000 to 500,000, 4.1% have 500,000 to 1 million, and 5.1% exceed 1 million followers.
Image credit: YRS TRULY
The full report is available here
Checkout Our Latest Podcast