The Covid-19 pandemic disrupted our daily life on an unprecedented scale. Along with several others, the video games industry was affected by it too. The overall impact might have been minimal, but the way studios conduct their operations has changed dramatically. Over the past few months, game developers worldwide, particularly from the US and Europe, struggled to cope with the changes brought upon by the pandemic.
Although a significant portion of the game development process can be done remotely, some activities require physical presence. Unexpected absenteeism and fewer work hours led to many projects being delayed or abandoned. At this moment, we, Gamecloud Technologies, took it upon ourselves to help our distressed customers. By leveraging the expertise that we gained through years of experience in the gaming realm, we delivered unparalleled results to our esteemed clients.
Setbacks to developers by the pandemic
On paper, the impact of the epidemic on the industry looks pretty mild; however, that is far from reality. In truth, the ramifications of this medical emergency were felt far and wide throughout the video game sector. Sudden lockdowns and quarantines led to mass absenteeism and empty studios for months. Several projects got stalled, and many were abandoned. Many of the studios had to let go of some of their workforce to cut costs and stay in business.
The Game Developers Conference conducted a survey of 2500 respondents from the video game world. The survey revealed some groundbreaking insights, one of which was that nearly a third of developers reported a decline in their revenue during the pandemic. However, nearly as much of them saw an increase. However, the most pressing statistic from the survey was that almost 70 percent of the respondents had to work remotely. The data also shows that roughly half of the developers were less productive and had to work longer hours during this time. Furthermore, more than a third of participants reported at least one project being delayed due to the pandemic.
How Gamecloud helped out the developers
The developing community was facing a tough time for the past few months. Many of our clients reached out and shared with the problems they were facing. Even though we were also going through the same challenges that they were, we stuck to our guns and chose to support our friends in the gaming community.
The primary issue faced by studios was that of reduced labor. To ameliorate the situation, many of our customers collaborated with Gamecloud Technologies as an external QA partner. Our team of highly trained technicians was more than happy to lend a helping hand to them. Some of the other ways how we assisted our customers are as follows:-
- Being a game testing agency, our prowess lies in performing meticulous tests to root out any irregularities and maximizing game quality. We did everything in our power to ensure high-quality delivery of game testing assignments as testified by several of our clients.
- Throughout the pandemic, we were aware that our clients have a rigid schedule to follow. To save our clients from any further delays, we always prioritized the timely delivery of testing assignments without compromising quality.
- Some of the developers chose to partner with us and form a strategic business relationship. This partnership will not only help out the developer in the present situation but will also be a mutually beneficial collaboration in the long run.
- By partnering with us, our clients will be able to help themselves financially. They won’t require any capital expenditure or CAPEX for purchasing new equipment. Similarly, they can significantly reduce their operating expenditure or OPEX by using sharing our state of the art resources.
- An area where we have truly shined during this time is video game user ticket management. Our virtual assistants and tech support executives diligently managed the player tickets via emails and the in-game ticket management system. This was despite the high volume of gamers during the quarantine period.
- Due to the labor crunch faced by companies, many of them relied on Gamecloud for quality assurance. Our skilled professionals catered to their every need, almost as if they were their personal offshore QA team.
- Our game jockeys helped out companies with a shortage of in-house staff by training and engaging new players for their online games.
- Community management is a critical aspect of staying successful in the gaming industry. To enforce this principle, we effectively managed the online community and forums despite overwhelming crowds.
Conclusion
The Covid-19 pandemic brought numerous changes in our lives, many of which might be irreversible. Despite the hardships, we, at Gamecloud Technologies, viewed this emergency as an opportunity to excel. Our will to deliver results and ensure a high degree of professionalism has induced a feeling of trust in our clientele. With this newly fortified trust in the quality and professionalism of GameCloud Technologies Pvt Ltd, a higher number of game studio studios are reaching out to us for strategic engagement.
