How Forge is Revolutionizing Game Distribution and Player Engagement

By Forge Co-Founder & CEO Kun Gao

Hey everyone, in this blog post I’m going to give my perspective on today’s launch of Forge Season 2, the most substantial update to Forge since we first introduced ourselves to the world, and our vision for the future. Thanks for reading and be sure to dive in to check out our amazing Season 2 launch partners here. Let’s get started.

The Forge Story Thus Far

Since our alpha launch at the end of 2023, Forge has been on an incredible journey, driven by a simple yet powerful mission: to reward gamers, empower game developers, and transform how games and players connect. In eight months, we’ve built a vibrant community of users, driving tens of millions of player engagements to our partner games, who have in turn distributed in-game items and content worth millions of dollars back to our community.

Now, with Forge Season 2, we’re taking this mission to the next level, opening up our powerful engagement and marketing tools to all game developers so that they can use the power Forge Loyalty Programs to reward their most dedicated fans, and grow their games.

The Problem: Traditional Games Marketing is Outdated, Expensive, and Inefficient

The gaming industry is changing rapidly. How games reach their audience has changed drastically from single channel “store shelves” to multi-channel social, community, and viral growth, traditional marketing hasn’t kept pace. Games spend on average 30–50% of revenue on marketing that fundamentally doesn’t work with their business model, and they have to become experts at reaching gamers across all channels through various tools and platforms that are disparate and disconnected.

The result? Countless games get lost in the noise, unable to find their audience and have little visibility into which channels actually work. Developers are left struggling to break through, spending millions on ads that don’t guarantee results and not being able to build a passionate audience, grow their community and find evangelists. This not only stifles creativity but also makes it incredibly difficult for all but the largest studios and publishers to compete.

Our Unique Solution: Empowering Community Growth

Today, we are redefining how games engage their community and grow. With Forge Season 2, we’re democratizing our powerful platform by giving all game developers the tools they need to use community engagement, marketing and gamification. With Forge, any game can create no-code, highly customizable loyalty programs that engage players from pre-launch through post-launch. By targeting players based on their verified gaming history, games can ensure that their outreach efforts are both efficient and effective. Our self-service tools allow games to reward players for their engagement whether that be community interaction (social media, Discord, Steam wishlisting) or in-game actions (using the Forge API), turning average fans into brand advocates and promoters. Your users will earn points and status by taking any of these actions, which you can in turn reward with items or digital content.

Why Game Developers Should Work with Forge

At Forge, we believe that game developers should spend their time creating great games, not navigating the complexities of building integration and analytics to support growth marketing. Our platform provides the tools games need to build and grow a loyal community. From engaging players with in-game rewards powered by our games API to fostering social media activity and referrals through our true measurement of social and community engagement, Forge helps games cultivate a fanbase that continues to engage with games long-term. Our data-driven approach ensures that games can make informed decisions, optimizing user acquisition and engagement strategies, and gain audience insight and understanding.

The Value for Players

Don’t worry, our vision of rewarding players for their dedication still holds true in Forge Season 2.

For players, Forge offers a unique experience to be part of a game’s growth journey, earning rewards and recognition for their contributions to the community as the game goes from concept to launch. Imagine discovering new games and being rewarded for your gameplay, social media engagement, community involvement, and advocacy — that is what we aim to achieve with Forge. Those who are early adopters, on the cutting edge of the next big thing, stand to gain to the most!

By turning your passion into rewards, Forge makes every gaming session more exciting and rewarding. This deepens the players connection to the game, enhancing the overall experience and creating a more vibrant gaming community.

Our Vision for the Future

The concept of the Loyalty Program is not new. Today, there’s loyalty programs from drinking coffee to flying around the world. However, for the first time ever, Forge is defining what it means for a game to build a Loyalty Program, and today, we are giving every game the ability to create their own for free.

Forge is more than just a platform; it’s a movement to redefine how games are marketed and experienced. Join us, and let’s build the future of gaming together, one gaming community at a time!

If you are a game developer interested in creating a Loyalty Program on Forge, click here. If you’re a gamer and want to discover great games and earn epic rewards, head to Forge.gg. See you out there!