Ghost of Yōtei isn’t a


traditional sequel (no recurring characters and franchise- spanning stories from Ghost of Tsushima). Yōtei saw the greatest parity between New and Returning Players in total count: Yōei also saw one of the more


balanced stream-length ratios among New and Returning Players (see Diagram within Section I). Roughly even numbers of creators, no Tsushima plot prerequisites


to enjoy Yōtei, a more balanced stream-length comparison across New and Returning. Yet, in spite of all these factors, Returning Players generated 78% of total viewer hours for Yōtei. There are a number of potential explanations for why two roughly


equal groups have such a disparate amount of viewer hours. One of the likeliest explanations is tied to Selection Bias: Returning creators are more likely to be established streamers with longer careers, creating correlation between “returning” status and audience size. It hasn’t been that long since Ghost of Tsushima, but for Twitch


newcomers who never streamed Tsushima, they’re likely to be overshadowed by influencer old heads’ extra years of viewership- building. For marketers, it’s key to give opportunities to the newcomers, but also not hold them to the standards of the longtime industry mainstays.


III. LEVERAGING THE FRANCHISE An interesting Revival Effect occurs when a sequel is imminent. Prior entries in the franchise get a lift from a mix of talent broadcasting for a number of different reasons: Returning Players: Nostalgia-driven replays while awaiting sequel New Players: “I should play the first one before the sequel drops” mentality Content Creators: Capitalizing on franchise momentum with retrospective content, revisiting or finally completing a series game


For game marketers, there’s a tremendous opportunity to


piggyback franchise sales and enjoy a quantifiable halo effect around a forthcoming sequel. Even titles without strong UGC meme credentials, like medieval RPG Kingdom Come Deliverance II, can escape the dark age of a dormant franchise with a renaissance of interest in prequel and sequel alike.


CONCLUSIONS Eight years from now, it’s nearly impossible to guess where games marketing will be. What will be the next TikTok? The next Among Us? The next IShowSpeed? While those specifics are murky, the influencer data indicates a more reassuring and steadier course: • The established voices, the resident experts and returning players will spend more time and earn more viewers playing series with which they’re previously associated. • New players will flit in and out of the franchise in greater numbers and with greater variation of impact than returning players. That said, this group represents the future of a franchise: today’s new players are tomorrow’s returning players. • And there’s no easier way to graft players into a franchise than to capitalize on an infusion of sequel hype. There’s an inevitable wave of visibility and interest around a prior game in the series, which a savvy marketer will anticipate and enable to its maximum potential. With these data insights, there’s a method to the madness of selling a sequel. And whether it’s an insect-themed Metroidvania or Norman Reedus and the Funky Fetus, there’s a path to effective, strategic, and data-validated marketing.


February/March 2026 MCV/DEVELOP | 15


Audience Chatter: Increased discussion drives rediscovery of the series, demand from viewers for their favorite creators to get caught up on the series And this increase in franchise engagement isn’t limited to just the


days leading up to launch: a noticeable spike in viewership can also be attributed to major pre-launch marketing beats, including game announce, gameplay reveal, or release date reveal. If the interest is high enough, the viewership might not even


require a bona fide marketing beat. For Hollow Knight: Silksong, “silkposting” (a self-flagellating, half-hopeful, half-despondent meme cycle for the Hollow Knight community) lifted the game back into prominence a month before the long-awaited platformer received launch details.


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