Top 5 Gaming Influencers and How to Work With Them

Gaming influencers might not be the most obvious choice in influencer marketing. But there's no question that they can help put your brand under a national spotlight. They've turned a popular pastime into a lifestyle brand, a practice that has captivated the attention of millions. They can put their popularity to work for you in the best possible ways.

Gaming content creators serve a wide spectrum of audiences. That's because gaming is a hobby that knows no bounds. People from every interest, subculture, and walk of life connect over video games, which can help you cast a wider net and build a loyal following of your own.

Here's a closer look at the top five gaming influencers and how to work with them and other gamers in your influencer marketing strategy.

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What Are Gaming Influencers?

A gaming influencer is someone who plays video games and shares their experiences with an online audience. They often live-stream their video gaming so their fans can follow along in real time.

Typically found on platforms like Twitch and YouTube, gaming influencers are known for their skills, entertaining commentary, and personalities. They attract a large, loyal following who enjoy watching them play.

What makes them influencers is their ability to impact their followers' opinions and choices - about which games to play, gear to buy, or trends to follow. Influencers can range from casual gamers who play for fun to professional eSports players who compete at a high level.

Because of gaming influencers' large and engaged audiences, brands often partner with them to promote products.

Check out our influencer definition to learn more about what to expect when working with influencers.

Tip: Check out our blog about the top Twitch influencers right here.

Benefits of Collaborating with Gaming Influencers

Brands, businesses, and even other influencers can benefit from partnering with gaming influencers.

Here's how:

• Authentic promotion. Influencers promote products in ways that feel natural and relatable to their audience, which can help you build trust and credibility instantly.
• High engagement. Gaming influencers interact with fans in real time, which creates immediate feedback and can build a sense of community around your brand.
• Brand awareness. Working with top gaming influencers can significantly boost your brand's visibility because of their large followings. Our influencer marketing statistics support the success of using influencers for brand awareness.
• Unique content. Gaming influencers are well known for creating diverse and entertaining content that resonates with their audience, removing the guesswork of what people will respond to.
• Diverse platforms. You'll find gaming influencers on TikTok, YouTube, Twitch, Instagram, and more, helping you reach different segments across various channels.

Gaming influencers are a unique subset of influencer marketing. Their audiences are highly diverse and can help you capture unique niche markets you might not have targeted otherwise.

Who Is the Most Famous Gamer?

Going by audience size, PewDiePie (whose real name is Felix Arvid Ulf Kjellberg) is arguably the best gaming influencer. He's amassed an impressive 104 million subscribers.

Even many people who aren't gamers have heard of him.

How to Find Gaming Influencers

Finding a gaming influencer to collaborate with takes a little effort given the massive size of the gaming communities. Here are some tips to streamline your search.

Use Klear to find top gaming influencers

Meltwater's Influencer Marketing Platform, Klear, gives you the quickest route to find gaming influencers. You can search for gamers based on your criteria, such as:

• Audience size (e.g., gaming micro-influencers)
• Social media platform (e.g., TikTok gaming influencers)
• Male or female gaming influencers
• Average engagement rates

Klear gives a Klear Score to each gaming influencer, which is like a stamp of approval. It shows you which creators have engaged and growing audiences and a high level of trust among the public.

You can find and vet influencers and also reach out to them directly through Klear. Create and send influencer briefs and track your communications.

When you're ready to collaborate, Klear also includes influencer campaign tracking. You can view metrics for each campaign so you can track content and engagement. See how your partnership is paying off.

Do an Instagram Hashtag Search

Find gaming influencers on Instagram by looking at relevant hashtags. Gamers will include gaming-related hashtags in their content, such as names of video games or generic terms like #gamer.

You can click the hashtag on Instagram to see who's posting content using those same hashtags. This is a great way to discover creators and view the type of content they're posting before reaching out to them.

Check gaming communities and forums

Join gaming forums, subreddits, and Discord communities where influencers often interact with their followers. You can see what types of content they're posting about and whether people are engaging with their posts.

Engaging in these spaces can help you identify influencers who are active and respected within specific gaming communities.

Do a Google search

Keep it simple with a Google search. You can search for keywords like "gaming influencers Instagram" or "best Twitch streamers" and see who pops up.

Google typically gives you lists of influencers across multiple platforms and subtopics. This can be a quick way to identify gaming influencers, but make sure you dig deeper before reaching out to potential candidates.

Top 5 Gaming Influencers

If you're on the hunt for a gaming influencer, consider these biggest gaming influencers who are used to working with brands and companies.

PewDiePie: 99 Klear Score

Source: Instagram

Swedish YouTube gamer PewDiePie is one of the most recognizable names in online gaming. He started his YouTube channel in 2010 and has since grown the largest following in his niche. He's most widely known for his "Let's Play" videos and humorous commentary on a wide range of video games, particularly horror titles.

His success has led to a number of brand collaborations and a book deal. Despite some controversy regarding language and off-putting jokes, he has maintained his influence in the gaming world and beyond. His content has expanded to include vlogs, memes, and general commentary on internet culture.

xQc: 98 Klear Score

Source: Instagram

Canadian Twitch streamer xQx (whose real name is Félix Lengyel) is a professional eSports player known for his lively and often unpredictable personality. He originally gained fame as a professional Overwatch player, representing teams like the Dallas Fuel in the Overwatch League. He now streams full time and creates diverse content across multiple games.

Valkyrae: 99 Klear Score

Source: Instagram

One of the most notable female gaming influencers, Valkyrae (whose real name is Rachel Hofstetter) is an American gamer, streamer, and YouTube content creator. She first gained popularity on the streaming platform Twitch, where she played games like Fortnite and Among Us. She later transitioned to YouTube gaming, becoming one of the platform's biggest female gaming influencers.

Valkyrae is known for her engaging personality, skilled gameplay, and her ability to create a welcoming and inclusive community. She is also a co-owner of the esports organization 100 Thieves.

Jacksepticeye: 98 Klear Score

Source: Instagram

Jacksepticeye, whose real name is Seán McLoughlin, is an Irish YouTuber and one of the most popular gaming influencers on the platform. Known for his distinctive accent and loud "Top o' the morning to ya" intro, he plays various video games and uses the popular "Let's Play" format to attract millions of followers. He's even earned a nod from PewDiePie, which helped him gain support for his channel.

Beyond gaming, Jacksepticeye has expanded his content to include vlogs, charity live streams, and collabs with other creators. He frequently uses his platform to raise money for various causes, another aspect that helps him maintain a loyal fanbase.

Tyler "Ninja" Blevins: 99 Klear Score

Source: Instagram

One of the most popular faces on the Twitch streaming platform, Tyler Blevins (who goes by Ninja) built his brand with livestreams of Halo 3 and Fortnite: Battle Royale. He brings high energy and engagement to his streams and has attracted millions of followers, making him a household name in gaming influencer marketing. His success has helped to bring eSports into the mainstream world.

Ninja's popularity has led to several high-profile collaborations with celebrities, appearances in the mainstream media, and partnerships with major brands, including a deal with Microsoft to stream exclusively on Mixer for a period of time. He's also dabbled in other ventures, including books, merchandise, and voice acting for - you guessed it - video games (and a few TV series).

How to Contact Gaming Influencers

If you're contacting gaming micro-influencers, you may be able to reach them via their social channels. Micro-influencers have smaller audiences and may or may not have a team working behind the scenes, so you have a stronger chance of reaching them directly.

Many of the top gaming influencers have agencies that represent them. You can try contacting them through social media, but there's no guarantee they will respond or even see your message.

To get in front of gaming influencers for a potential collaboration, it's helpful to use gaming influencer services. You can get a direct line to their representatives and start the conversation.

You can also use platforms like Klear to handle your outreach. Klear not only shows you the best gaming influencers but also gives you a way to contact them directly. You can create an influencer marketing request, track your messages via the platform, and keep all of your communications in one place.

Find More Gaming Influencers with Klear

We've gotten you started with a list of the top five gaming influencers. You can start adding to this list with Klear. Our influencer marketing platform lets you discover influencers in any niche, including gaming, then filter them based on your criteria.

Keep your outreach, collaboration, and metrics all in one place. See how working with gaming influencers can pay off for your brand - learn more when you request a demo by filling out the form below!

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