Customer engagement has become one of the primary ways game providers differentiate themselves in the competitive gaming environment. According to ScreenMeet, proper customer engagement strategies could actually add up to two-thirds of a company’s profit. With more players demanding real-time experiences, game developers have been evolving to ensure fans can find such experiences on their platforms.

Those days where we would have to wait for ages before receiving responses are long gone. Imagine that you encounter a hitch as you play at midnight and have to wait until morning when businesses resume before you can receive a response. You’ll probably perceive such a platform as one that doesn’t care about its customers, and you don’t want to transact with such brands. So, how can you stand out by adopting real-time engagement tactics?

The Popularity of Real-time Engagement

As we have already mentioned, real-time immersion is a gaming aspect that most players seek after. As a result, gaming providers are rising to meet this growing preference as a way of staying relevant. For instance, if you have been closely watching the casino industry, you must have noticed different live dealer games where you can participate with live dealers in real-time. These could include but are not limited to live roulette, blackjack, etc.

One of the experiences that has fueled the need for real-time experiences is real-time communication. Well, think of it this way: you just watched your favorite esport tournament and would like to share the experience with your close friend. Compare an experience where you have to share your experience via chat or opt for a live video call. With the call, you are more likely to share a sheer density of information, unlike chats, where you will likely lose several aspects of communication.

Details like sharing the same space and hearing the same sounds are part of why modern-day players fancy real-time immersion. It’s now no longer about just interacting with computer-generated characters – you want an experience that allows you to share context and build stronger connections with fellow players.

The Power of Interactive Video and Voice Chat

Just recently, in early 2024, research by Zoho revealed that about 63% of customers were more likely to return to a website that offered live chat experiences. As if that is not enough, such experiences could increase conversion rates by up to 8-20%. With more players changing from offline single-player games to virtual multiplayer games, the need for live chat has never been as important.

Consider a game like DOTA 2. It allows you to become a good solo player, but the gameplay may be devastating if you can’t work well with your teammates. This is where voice communication comes in to help. Effective communication ensures you can optimize your team composition, resulting in a fun-filled gaming experience.

And for such games, the higher you climb the ranks, the better the team communication needs to be. Voice communication can, thus, be a great way to ensure every team member is on the same page. Plus, some reports show that real-time voice gaming can positively affect the video bitrate and audio quality. Regardless of location, audio codec allows you to interact with other players online, removing barriers to physical venues.

Enhancing Quality of Streams

Imagine participating in Call of Duty, and you have identified an opponent. But because of lags in the gameplay, the opponent moves to a different location, making it impossible to fire them. Such experiences can be pretty frustrating and common among providers with low-spec machines and low-grade internet connections. As a provider, you want always to ensure that your latency is as close to 0ms as possible – mostly, it can vary between 21 and 100, but you shouldn’t go beyond that if you want to attract serious gamers.

Remember, players will access your games differently – some will access them via smartphones, while others will use their laptops and desktops. It might not make sense to show full HD on a mobile device, but it will be a great deal to do so on a smart TV or iPad Pro. Plus, bitrate is not something you can ignore. For most platforms, your bitrate settings will depend on the resolution and framerate you are using on your videos. For instance, for a 1080p resolution at 60 fps, a bit rate of 6000 kbps can be suitable on Twitch.

And, of course, you don’t want a very high video quality with many inconsistencies. Something else you might want to consider when it comes to bettering real-time experiences is offering fast start-up times. Such experiences come in handy when players want to switch between portrait and landscape video modes, and this can be more engaging as users rotate their devices.

Real-time immersion is a topic that any game provider seeking to stay relevant cannot ignore. And thanks to technological advancements like live chat, offering players such experiences is now possible. Looking ahead into the future, developers will continue turning to technologies like VR and AR to further enhance instantaneous experiences in the gaming sector.