Your next top-performing creator might not be a beauty or food creator. It might be a gamer who already reaches the customers you want.

Like an F1 sim racer streaming their practice laps live on Twitch. Or a YouTube influencers walking viewers through a new game. Gamers now shape how people discover entertainment, products, and even sports.

They also hold attention for much longer than a typical feed scroll, which is why many brands are seeing stronger results from gaming creators than from more familiar niches.

For brands that do not sell games or consoles, that raises a simple question.

Why are gamers suddenly some of the most valuable creators you can partner with?

In this guide, I’ll share how gaming creators drive reach, trust, and measurable business impact across Twitch, YouTube, TikTok, and beyond. Plus, how non-endemic brands (not gaming-related) can start working with gamers in a way that feels natural to players and valuable for your marketing team.

What “Non-Endemic” Really Means

A non-endemic brand in gaming is any company that does not sell games, consoles, or core gaming hardware as its main business.

If you’re reading this, you probably:

• Sell consumer products (food, drink, beauty, fashion, CPG)
  
  
• Work in services (finance, telco, travel, fitness, education)
  
  
• Or represent a B2B or SaaS brand targeting Gen Z or Millennials
  
  

Good news: non-endemic brands are already using gaming creators to reach new audiences, lower customer acquisition cost (CAC), and build brand trust in a channel people actually enjoy.

Your job is not to “break into gaming” as a new vertical. It is to recognize that gaming is where your target audience already hangs out, and to show up there in a way that feels native.

Why Gaming Creators Punch Above Their Weight in Culture

From the outside, gaming used to look niche. A few hardcore communities. A handful of big titles. An esports event now and then.

Bain’s 2025 Gaming Report shows a different picture. Gamers ‘punch above their weight’ because a relatively small group of highly engaged players ends up shaping a huge share of what people watch, share, and ultimately spend money on. 

Their habits are always online and very social, so what they love in games spills into streaming, social feeds, and shopping.

A few patterns matter for brands:

• They cluster around the same worlds. Younger players are much more likely to play the same titles as their friends. When a game hits, whole groups move together. That makes a small but passionate segment feel very loud in culture.
  
  
• They create, not just consume. A growing share of players make clips, levels, mods, and other user-generated content. That content lives on Twitch, YouTube, TikTok, and Discord, keeping a game in circulation long after launch and keeping creators at the center of the conversation.
  
  
• They follow their games into other media. Bain notes that a meaningful slice of gamers’ non-gaming media time goes to game-related shows, music, and merch. When a series based on a game does well, the number of people actively playing can jump by double digits for months. In some cases, the lift can reach 70% for top titles.
  
  

Bain also highlights that the biggest games now behave more like platforms than one-off releases. Worlds like Fortnite, Roblox, and Minecraft keep people coming back to hang out, create, and join events, not just to “finish the story.” That gives creators more chances to show up in front of the same highly engaged communities over time.

For you, as a non-endemic brand, here’s the key takeaway. When you work with the right gaming creators inside these worlds, you are not only buying a single post. You are tapping into a system where players pull their friends in, share creator content across channels, and follow that universe into shows and social moments. Your product can ride that wave of attention rather than trying to generate it all on its own.

Gamers as a Discovery Engine

Bain’s research on how people discover games today shows a simple shift: more players now discover new titles from streamers and social feeds than from digital storefronts like Steam, the PlayStation Store, the Xbox Store, or mobile app stores.

For gaming, that means:

• The “front door” to a new title is often a creator, not a store page.
  
  

For you, as a non-endemic brand, it means this:

• The same discovery behavior can work in your favor when creator content introduces your product inside a game world or gaming context.
  
  

Players are used to:

• Trying a snack, drink, headset, finance app, or skincare product they saw during a stream
  
  
• Clicking a link in chat or a panel
  
  
• Entering a code tied to a specific creator
  
  

That is exactly the kind of behavior you want if you care about real people, not just raw impressions. To capture that value, you need a reach model that can show where gaming adds net-new audience on top of your existing channels.

If your goal is to grow incremental reach with real people, pair your gaming work with a cleaner reach model. Use the reach framework from this influencer reach playbook to:

• Count Net Unique Reach instead of double-counted impressions
• Track CP1K-U (cost per 1,000 unique people)
• Use tiered creator mixes to keep reaching new audience pockets

That is the kind of model that makes gaming creators defensible in front of a CFO.

Brands Already Winning with Gaming Creators

Gaming creators are not limited to “gaming brands.” Some of the strongest examples are non-endemic brands that treated gaming as both a cultural channel and a performance channel.

Many of these campaigns show both strong cultural response and measurable lifts in sign-ups, viewing time, or sales, even if not all brands publish exact numbers.

F1 + EA Sports: Racing, Sim Rigs, and Streams

F1’s growth with younger fans has been fueled not just by the races, but by:

• Sim racers streaming official F1 games on Twitch
  
  
• YouTube creators breaking down overtakes and strategies using in-game footage
  
  
• Branded drops and co-promotions around races and new titles
  
  

These creators do not pause to give long, scripted speeches. They integrate brands into setups, routines, and stories their viewers already watch each week.

Adidas x Ninja: Lifestyle Meets Gaming

When Adidas partnered with Ninja, the play was not “here is a shoe; please hold it up.” It was:

• A lifestyle creator who lives in both gaming and streetwear
  
  
• Products that showed up naturally in what he already wears
  
  
• Clips and streams where fans could see the gear in real use
  
  

That mix made the collaboration feel like a natural extension of his identity, not a forced endorsement.

The Voice Australia: TV, Apps, and Twitch Commentary

The Voice Australia treated gaming platforms as part of the fan experience:

• An interactive app for voting
  
  
• Commentary streams on Twitch
  
  
• Clips and reactions on YouTube and TikTok

Together, those touchpoints turned a TV show into something fans could watch, vote on, and talk about across channels. That is the same pattern non-gaming brands can use: one core idea extended across platforms where players and fans already spend time.

Where Gamers Actually Influence: Twitch, YouTube, TikTok, and Beyond

You don’t need to be everywhere in gaming. You do need to understand what each platform is good at and pick the ones that fit your brand.

Twitch: Live, Leaned-In Attention

Twitch is still the home base for live gaming:

• Long-form streams
  
  
• Real-time chat
  
  
• Deep parasocial relationships (viewers feel like they know the streamer)
  
  

It’s a strong fit when your goal is:

• Deep engagement
  
  
• Community building
  
  
• Driving direct action via chat commands, panels, or limited offers
  
  

If reaching younger audiences is part of your plan, this guide to engaging younger audiences with Twitch influencers explains why Gen Z and Millennials spend so much time on Twitch and how brands can meet them there in a way that feels natural.

For a deeper breakdown of which platforms matter for gaming creators, and how Twitch compares to YouTube, TikTok, and others, here’s a deep dive on the best platforms for gaming influencers.

YouTube: Depth, Evergreen Content, and Global Scale

YouTube is where:

• Players watch long-form reviews and breakdowns
  
  
• Tutorials and “how to” content live forever
  
  
• VODs from streams get a second life
  
  

This is a strong home for:

• Product explainers
  
  
• Tutorials tied to your category
  
  
• Evergreen brand stories and docu-style pieces
  
  

TikTok: Fast Discovery and Culture Moments

TikTok powers short-form discovery:

• Loaded with gaming clips, edits, and quick reactions
  
  
• A place where non-gaming brands already play in trends
  
  
• Ideal for quick hooks that funnel people to Twitch or YouTube
  
  

Short-form gaming content can introduce your brand fast, then hand off to longer content elsewhere.

Discord and Community Spaces

Discord servers and other community hubs do not look like media channels at first glance. But they matter because:

• They’re where loyal fans talk every day
  
  
• Many streamers host their private communities there
  
  
• They’re a natural home for deeper engagement, feedback, and loyalty plays
  
  

You likely won’t “advertise” in Discord, but it’s part of the ecosystem your gaming strategy taps into.

How Non-Endemic Brands Can Show Up

If you are not selling games, your biggest risk is forcing your product into streams in a way that feels awkward. The brands that win with gamers avoid that.

They do three things well.

1) Treat Gaming Creators as Both Performance and Culture

For performance, you want:

• Trackable actions: sign-ups, installs, codes, or clicks
  
  
• Clear CTAs that fit the creator’s voice
  
  
• Clean tracking so you see which creator and content actually moved the needle
  
  

For culture, you want:

• Moments that feel like they belong in the game world
  
  
• Story arcs and jokes that viewers would watch even without your brand
  
  
• A role for your product that fits what players already do (snacks, energy, comfort, finance, fashion, tools, etc.)
  
  

2) Start with Smaller and Mid-Sized Gamers

You do not need to start with the biggest names. In fact, I’d recommend you don’t. 

Smaller and mid-tier gaming creators are:

• Closer to their communities
  
  
• Often more open to testing new formats
  
  
• Lower risk as you learn which games, genres, and tones fit your brand
  
  

Think of them as your testing lab. Once you see what works, what actually moves people, you can scale those learnings into bigger partnerships.

3) Choose Collab Formats That Feel Like Content, Not Just Branding

Some formats that work especially well:

• Live walkthroughs with integrated brand moments
  
  
  • Creator plays, explains, and casually brings your product into the routine
    
    
• Gamified giveaways (“win the skin” or “win the setup”)
  
  
  • Viewers earn entries through in-chat interactions or simple actions
    
    
• UGC skin or concept design competitions
  
  
  • Viewers submit art, concepts, or builds inspired by your brand
    
    
• Co-streams or “challenge nights”
  • Creators run themed nights (e.g., “no-UI run,” “speedrun with penalties”) tied loosely to your brand story
    

The content still feels like what viewers expect from that creator. Your brand shows up as a natural part of the story, not a logo pasted on top.

Do’s and Don’ts for Working with Gaming Creators

Do

• Let creators stay in their content flow.
  Give a clear brief and guardrails, then let them talk like they always do.
  
  
• Anchor your product in real use.
  On-desk, in-hand, or in a routine works better than isolated logo shots.
  
  
• Track both culture and performance.
  Watch chat sentiment, watch time, saves, and clicks, not just views.
  
  
• Use gaming to support your broader strategy.
  Tie gaming into your 2026 digital plan so it aligns with other channels' goals and KPIs.
  
  

Don’t

• Don’t insert hard “sales talk” mid-stream.
  If the tone suddenly flips into ad-mode, viewers feel it and often bounce.
  
  
• Don’t treat gamers like a one-off stunt.
  The best results show up when you test, learn, and come back.
  
  
• Don’t over-script.
  Viewers know when creators are reading. Keep talking points light and flexible.

If you want more help tying influencer results back to executive-friendly metrics, this guide to reporting content marketing results walks through how to structure reports around reach, engagement, conversions, and ROI in a way that defends channels like gaming.

How to Measure Success with Gaming Creators

You can use the same structure you use for other influencer campaigns, but with a few gaming-specific nuances.

Look Beyond Views

For live streams and VODs, track:

• Average watch time or average view duration
  
  
• Chat activity and meaningful comments
  
  
• Saves, shares, clips, and replays where possible
  
  

These tell you whether viewers stayed and cared, not just whether they scrolled past. Longer watch time and active chat often signal trust and interest, which can explain why gaming creators sometimes drive higher conversion rates than creators who only show up in quick feed posts.