From Minecraft to Fortnite to Animal Crossing, video games are the new media hubs – even nu-metal band Korn and country superstar Garth Brooks are getting into it

Video game platforms like Fortnite and Roblox have already become go-to spots to celebrate birthdays, hear new music and watch movie trailers.

Now they’re pushing to become true media hubs, where entire albums may be distributed exclusively and socialising is just as important as gaming. Even as people begin to emerge from lockdown, video game companies look to bolster their products’ status as the new kings of communication.

Garth Brooks is a convert. The country music superstar, who has outsold Elvis, expects to start releasing new songs within Zynga’s mobile games, such as Words With Friends, which recently began offering free content for Amazon Prime subscribers.

“The future is limitless, especially now that they’ve teamed up with Amazon,” Brooks. “What’s possible is an entire album solely for Zynga and Amazon. And then a year later, it can release into the whole other retail.”

During coronavirus lockdowns, video game use exploded – both as a way to pass the time and maintain friendships.

Animal Crossing : New Horizons saw one of the biggest spikes of new user interest among social media channels, according to a recent report from analytics provider Talkwalker. Players have begun celebrating major life events, including school graduations, in Roblox, Minecraft, Fortnite and other games.

Using the same platforms to watch entire movies and attend concerts is seen as the logical next step. “Because of the lockdown and people being confined, they have more time to game, but there are also other things they want to do,” said Billy Pidgeon, an independent game industry analyst.

Even as the lockdowns are being lifted, many consumers are hesitant to head back to cinemas and concert halls – and may stay away for some time. Artists and filmmakers can find them inside games.

“With terrestrial radio, they want it to be a hit already before you bring it to them,” said Brooks, who started working with Zynga last year. “With gaming, it allows a lot of people to hear it before it’s played to them. If you make the song famous through gaming, by the time it hits retail, then people don’t have the hesitation of spending the money. It’s a win-win for everybody.”

Already, Brooks has performed in a coronavirus relief concert on game streaming site Twitch. Back in April, artists such as Lady Gaga and Billie Eilish took part in the One World: Together at Home concert, with about four million gamers tuning in from Roblox.

Nearly 28 million fans flocked to Epic Games’ April concert by Travis Scott in Fortnite . And more recently, Epic premiered a new trailer for the upcoming Christopher Nolan movie Tenet.

Rockstar Games and 2K have had special events, and corporate parent Take Two Interactive Software is “looking at all kind of interesting things” in terms of interactive content, said chief executive Strauss Zelnick.

Roblox, played by a third of all Americans under the age of 16, is now working with the movie and music industries to host their content in the game. It expects to make announcements soon.

“Historically, what we’ve been doing has been promotional in nature,” said Craig Donato, chief business officer at Roblox. For instance, Roblox created special characters and contests within the game for Warner Bros and Walt Disney – to promote Aquaman and other titles.

“Now we are very much focused on creating interactive experiences where people are also consuming this entertainment,” Donato said. “I have a team of people talking to movie and music industries, and this is something we are focused on.”

The idea is not just to stream a video inside a game, but also to offer extra features unavailable in a real-life concert or cinema. Music fans’ avatars may be able to go backstage to greet their idol, to ask a question or to request a favourite song. And, of course, they can play games and socialise while watching.

“The dimension we are trying to figure out here is truly social consumption,” Donato said. “The people around me, the larger group, my connection to the artist. There’s really opportunities to create compelling experiences.”

Amrik Raj Singh Chattha, who is 12 and lives in Marin County, California, had his avatar wearing a light sabre and watching on the stage, and said it was “very exciting”.

“When you are watching TV, you might be alone,” he said. “When you are in the video game, there are other users in the game. It feels slightly more lifelike.”

Artix Entertainment, which has been hosting live events with musicians like Korn since 2009, has begun doing battle concerts in the last six months. They work like this: players enter a concert for the band Breaking Benjamin through a portal, and end up in a void with floating islands and giant monsters. Depending on what they do, and which monsters they battle, the concert ends differently.

Because of that, an average player attends the same concert 10 times, said Artix chief executive Adam Bohn.

“Some of them play into the hundreds,” Bohn said. “The game gives a prize for every step of the concert.”

The entertainers are turned into 3D characters – with input from the artists, who also get to choose what backdrop they’d like for their virtual stage, and how the lights and special effects should look.

“My ultimate dream: I want our game to be like the video game version of Saturday Night Live,” Bohn said. “A new musical guest every week.”

To make money from the arrangement, Artix has tried one-time fees and sold collectable band merchandise – with the performers splitting proceeds with the gaming company. But for Artix, it’s more about being able to market the gaming platform to a band’s fans, Bohn said.

Gaming companies could potentially include exclusive concerts in their season passes, according to David Cole, founder of research firm DFC Intelligence. Selling virtual merchandise is another moneymaker, he said.

“For game companies, I think it is a long-term opportunity to bring in a broad audience that will hopefully stick around,” Cole said.