Recruiting beyond a game’s existing fans

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Your current players know your game. They can explain what keeps them returning, how they use its systems and what they would like to change.

Other research questions require different perspectives.

You might need to understand why someone stopped playing, what prevents a potential player from trying the game or how a concept lands with people unfamiliar with the franchise.

Recruitment needs to start with a clear definition of that audience.

Establish what “new” means

• Someone can be new to a title while knowing its franchise well. They might have watched streams, followed announcements or played a previous instalment.
• Depending on the study, those experiences may be relevant to selection.
• Agree whether you need people who have never played, people with limited awareness or people encountering particular material for the first time. These are different requirements.

Understand lapsed experience

• “Lapsed player” also needs context.
• Someone who stopped last month may remember the current experience clearly. Someone who left several years ago may be responding to a version of the game that has changed substantially.
• Their earlier level of involvement and reasons for leaving can matter too. Define the experience you need without assuming all former players share the same perspective.

Be precise about potential players

• Enjoying a genre does not automatically make someone a likely customer for every game within it.
• The research may need people with particular motivations, habits or interests. It may also need people who are hesitant or unconvinced.
• Recruitment should reflect that definition rather than requiring applicants to express enthusiasm for something they have not experienced.

Source beyond the obvious communities

• A game’s own channels may be useful for reaching current fans. Other audiences may require different routes.
• That could involve broader player communities, targeted campaigns or outreach shaped around relevant behaviours and interests. The sourcing plan should follow the audience, with screening and validation establishing who actually fits.

Validate the experience required

• For unfamiliar audiences, suitability cannot rest on demonstrating detailed knowledge of the target game.
• Instead, validation can explore relevant gaming experiences, clarify prior exposure and assess the distinctions agreed in the brief. Honest uncertainty or criticism may be useful to the research.
• At Gromotion, we recruit for interviews, focus groups and other games research alongside playtesting, with the approach shaped around whose perspective is needed.

Looking beyond your existing players? Get in touch to discuss the audience you want to understand.