Outsourcing Player Support

The importance of player support

We all know that customer service is critical for a successful game. Great support leads to happy players who play longer, make more in-game purchases, buy the latest expansions and titles, and stay loyal to the brand.

Poor support — and a poor experience — can have the opposite effect.

We are often asked, “What’s the ROI for player support?” Our gaming industry veteran and CXO Rich Weil loves to joke, “Well, stop doing it for six months, and you’ll find out.”

But providing excellent customer support for your game and players is challenging — easier said than done.

Challenges of providing top-notch player support

Every industry has its own particular customer support challenges. The gaming industry is no exception. Let’s examine them.

Global popularity

Gaming is an international phenomenon. In 2024, we saw about half of the industry revenue coming from Asia-Pacific, about 27% coming from North America, and 19% from Europe, according to NewZoo. There’s no telling where a game will find popularity. And there’s a good chance a great game will gain popularity across many global markets.

The bottom line: you need global player support capable of supporting any language should the need arise.

Another trend is increasing regional regulations that make supporting games in different locales more difficult. Our article 3 Challenges for Player Support in the Global Gaming Market explores these challenges in more detail.

Playtime variability

24/7 support is table stakes in today’s world. In many industries, support load follows predictable patterns. Gaming is different. Between international players and the fact that gaming is no longer reserved for evenings and weekends, the support load can be wildly unpredictable.

Providing fast, consistent response times can be challenging if you don’t have a flexible workforce model.

Change happens quickly

Games get hot and spread quickly. Critical bugs appear out of nowhere and require lightning-fast responses. Great player support demands ramping up quickly to seize opportunities and respond to crises. And, as we’ve just mentioned, this often needs to happen across many markets. It’s another one of our key challenges.

On-demand scalability is a critical factor in player support.

But there’s a flip side to ramping up quickly. It’s just as important to have the ability to scale down when the crisis subsides or the hype cools. Being overstaffed is a costly situation, and you don’t want to scale up only to find yourself locked into support levels you don’t need.

Players aren't your average customers

The nice thing about gamers—especially hardcore gamers—is that they tend to avail themselves of self-support opportunities like FAQs and documentation. They also seek out public support channels like Discord servers, forums, and subreddits. They’re also great at sharing what they’ve learned, another win that makes your life easy.

But when they need help, they generally don't have the patience for non-gamers. You need to ensure you have a team up to this task. You don't want to disappoint your biggest fans. Gamers expect you to speak their language literally and figuratively.

On the other end of the spectrum, the increase in casual gaming means you have an entirely different type of customer to support: one less prone to self-support and more reliant on traditional channels.

Experience in gaming is essential. But having agents who are actually gamers makes a huge difference in the efficiency and rapport with which you deliver player support.

Omnichannel+

Omnichannel support is table stakes for most companies these days. Customers should be able to get help however they choose: by phone, email, text, chat, or submitting a ticket to a CRM. Ideally, they can seamlessly switch between platforms, too. Of course, there are public channels, such as social media and forums. But player support means expanding your support channels further to include Discord, subreddits, and even in-game support.

These additional channels, together with player dynamics, challenge traditional BPOs. Player support is customer support … on hard mode.

Trust and Safety

Player support is only part of the whole player experience equation. Community is a big part of what draws players in and keeps them playing.

Creating a community that’s engaged, safe, and toxic-free is part of a broader player experience strategy. Find a partner that moderates content and manages your community as well as supports your players. A unified team leads to a more cohesive experience and better results.

Core considerations

There are other essential qualities to look for in an outsourcing partner.

The best outsourcers for any customer support project should be proactive and outcome-focused. Resolving tickets is not enough; it’s about meeting and exceeding your KPIs. Don’t settle for a partner who merely provides a service or phones it in.

And you can’t do that without being data-driven. Look for a partner who starts with your data to customize your project (they are customizing it, right?). And continues monitoring your data to continually optimize it.

Don’t sacrifice quality. And you shouldn’t have to in order to get the lowest possible price. Quality and cost don’t have to be a zero-sum game. You shouldn’t have to spend more to give your players the experience they deserve. It is possible to increase value and reduce cost to drive up ROI.

The best outsourcers operate transparently. They act as partners, not mere vendors. Clear communication and frictionless interactions should be the standard.

In short, you want control. As the game evolves and business changes, you want to be able to steer the project and a partner who can back your moves.

Next steps

If you’re looking for player support or trust and safety services for your game, we’ve got you covered.

Whether you need help now, have a future release coming up soon, or just want to understand whether you can improve your current outsourcing situation, set up a call. We can talk through your data and business goals and tell you about our approach.

Or if you’re still in research mode, check out the following: