The Multiplayer Marketing Paradox
Imagine two games:
Game A spends $100 million on busstop ads, influencers, and flashy trailers… yet closes in 4 months.
Game B launches with 200k on marketing & reaches 2 million players through word-of-mouth alone.
The difference? Game B had a Hot Coal.
What Is The Hot Coal?
The Hot Coal is the irresistible core of your game: a feature, moment, or loop so addictive/fun/shareworthy that players can’t stop talking about it to their own networks & communities.
Examples:
- Trackmania: The most absurd UGC tracks & record runs.
- BattleBit: The chaos of hundreds of players storming a single building.
- Among Us: The thrill of betrayal sparking shareable stories of emotional rollercoasters.
Without a Hot Coal, your marketing budget burns fast wherever you spend it.
With it: The players you reach will literally will market your game for you to their communities.
How to Find Your Game’s Hot Coal
Step 1: Mine Playtest Data
You won't strike gold from “Did you like X thing?” Instead seek:
- What made players scream/laugh?
- What did players screenshot or clip?
- What do the players share to their friends about the game?
Case Trackmania:
Trackmania's initial version had the player building routes towards a goal. They pivoted from puzzle game to racing game after developers kids were enjoying the most from just trying to beat the record.
Surprisingly the developers said the racing game seemed "dead" for the first 6 months. Trackmania's true Hot Coal became users building & sharing maps later on.
Step 2: Align Messaging to Player “Avatars”
3 players love your game for 3 reasons. Tailor content to their triggers:
- The Competitor: Show leaderboards and “clips for clout.”
- The Explorer: Tease secrets and uncharted territory.
- The Socializer: Highlight meme-worthy chaos and fun group play.
Example:
Helldivers 2 markets “DEMOCRACY” memes to casuals… and stratagy guides to hardcore players.
Step 3: Let Superfans Control the Story
Your Hot Coal isn’t what you love. It’s what players can’t shut up about.
Case Study:
Valheim didn’t push “procedural worlds.” They leaned into “Build a Viking death fortress & watch trolls smash it.”
Games That Nailed the Hot Coal
1. Among Us
Hot Coal: Betrayal-fueled chaos.
Result: billions of organic views on across YouTube, TikTok & Twitch
2. Lethal Company
Hot Coal: “Scare your friends” proximity chat moments.
Result: 180k Steam reviews in 3 months, zero paid ads.
3. BattleBit
Hot Coal: “This $30 game is better than Call of Duty” TikTok trend.
Result: 1.8M copies sold before mainstream media noticed.
How to Ignite Your Hot Coal
Playtest Relentlessly with your own community & content creators
- Haven't built one yet? Consider XPFIRST's multiplayer focus groups & user research team,
or larger scale tests with self-serve platforms like Antidote or Playtestcloud.
If you already have built a community on some forums:
Mine Communities: Scour Reddit/Steam/discord for what players clip, argue about, or beg for.
Feed Creators: Give streamers tools to showcase the Hot Coal (e.g., Lethal Company’s janky voice chat).
Struggling to find your game’s Hot Coal? We'll gift a free consultation to dig into your user research.
Final Takeaway:
