The spread of the coronavirus (Covid-19) throughout the world is having an impact on all scales. In Italy, for example, it was decided to carry out a quarantine that keeps all commercial premises closed and people inside their houses. In this context, the president of Telecom, Luigi Gubitosi, explained that this situation is directly affecting internet traffic, which increased by 70%. In turn, he pointed out that this is because a large number of users are using online video games, as is the case of Fortnite, the famous “battle royales” developed by Epic Games.
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Although titles like Pokemon GO are affected by the measures and restrictions that the coronavirus is generating in different cities around the world, others like Fortnite seem to take advantage of the situation. According to the statistics provided by Telecom Italia, both the Epic Gams game and Call of Duty are the titles preferred by users who can not leave their homes and are looking to have fun.
“Now that I am in quarantine and I can not leave the house, it is obvious that I can play video games much more than before. Yes, I study, but the fact of not being able to leave gives me room to continue improving in the plays,” Marco Pozzoli, 17, an Italian high school student, said.
Considering that this seclusion and quarantine can be applied in different parts of the world in case the virus does not reverse, the Italian video game developer RuneHeads started with an initiative that seeks to help make time at home more bearable. For this, the studio created an online document with codes from their video games, which for the moment can be downloaded for free.
This list is currently made up of a large number of games, so the user will have the possibility to choose which game format they prefer to pass the time. This measure also aims to help players who may not be able to buy a game, much less in a situation like the one they are experiencing.
“It seems like an incredible idea to me. It is an act of solidarity than allows me to occupy the time at home. The fact of having access to so many video games seems to be the best of this awful moment for humanity”, Alessandro Civile, 22, an Italian university student, said.
This idea had a good impact on other studios, both AAA and indies, which joined leaving code from games like Mafia III, Lost Ember, STAR WARS – Knights of the Old Republic and Duke Nukem Forever. It should be noted that the vast majority of these codes have already been used by players and their replacement is subject if the company wishes.
Other companies are promoting engagement in the gaming world. This is the case of Gamestry, a Spanish company in the world of video games, which on its platform is carrying out actions to increase user traffic and subscriptions. Gamestry is a platform that includes courses for video game professionals on its website and helps those who want to learn to play.
Gamestry has a subscription model with a monthly fee, but because of the COVID-19, they are changing the business model so that the young people in quarantine sign up for the platform and continue to feed the video game business.
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“Until now, we did not offer a free trial before subscribing to our courses, like Netflix or HBO. Now we see an important need in our audience: attracting bored young people at home to our platform. Before that happens, we have to show them how much they lose by not being subscribed, so we have decided to offer a month of a free trial”, Adrián Paniagua, Gamestry’s content manager, said.
The cancellation of all kinds of shows, including sports, make video games and streaming the most popular among the general public. Even so, there have been events related to the world of video games that have been canceled due to the high rate of spread of the new coronavirus.
According to Adrián Paniagua, the cancellation or suspension of numerous events in the gaming world is inevitable, given the current circumstances. Despite this, Gamestry’s content manager believes that it is opening the way to significant growth in video game engagement in the online world.
Among the canceled events is the Chinese League of League of Legends, which was canceled several weeks ago and resumed on Mar. 9 with all necessary measures to ensure the health of all actors.
The second round of matches in the LCK spring league, South Korea’s League of Legends League, has been postponed indefinitely and will not be played until further notice due to the coronavirus. The GDC, Game Developers Conference, was indefinitely canceled due to the coronavirus in late February and the date on which it will be held is currently unknown.
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