Video game streaming has introduced to consumers a new method of creating branded content. Popular streaming platforms receive millions of broadcasters and viewers every month, and the current examines the influence of this type user-generated content on consumer attitudes and behaviors. The goal of this study is to understand how video game streams function as a marketing tool. To investigate this, a quantitative survey was designed and measured participants’ video gaming habits and their perceptions of credibility, usefulness of content, group identification, and purchase intention. Heavier gaming habits were found to be positively related to perceived credibility in a user-generated stream condition. Group identification and stream familiarity were found to be positively related to perceived credibility. These findings hold implications for using video game streams as a marketing tool, as heavier gamers were found perceive user-generated streams as a credible source of information.

En la actualidad, la industria de los videojuegos ha presentado un gran crecimiento con respecto a otras industrias, lo que ha generado un mayor número de competidores en el sector. Asimismo, los modelos de compra de videojuegos han variado con el tiempo, convirtiéndose el free to play en la modalidad más atractiva entre los videojugadores. Por tal motivo, los videojuegos free to play competitivos han optado por invertir en distintos ámbitos, con la finalidad de mejorar su posicionamiento y atraer nuevos usuarios. No obstante, con respecto las inversiones, se ha determinado tres factores que se relacionan al posicionamiento, la inversión publicitaria, la inversión en la escena competitiva y la inversión en influencers. Razón por la cual, se desarrolla cada uno de ellos, mediante su aproximación con el marketing de videojuegos. La metodología comprende un análisis cuantitativo y cualitativo, mediante un análisis cruzado de las variables, entrevistas a profundidad y grupos focales. De esta manera, se discute lo recogido, encontrando hallazgos de vital importancia que validan las hipótesis presentadas. Lo que coloca a la inversión en la escena competitiva, como la inversión de mayor importancia para el posicionamiento de los esports free to play. / At present, the videogames industry has shown great growth compared to other industries, which has generated a greater number of competitors in the sector. Likewise, videogame purchase models have varied over time, making free to play the most attractive modality among videogames. For this reason, competitive free to play video games have chosen to invest in different fields, in order to improve their positioning and attract new users. However, with respect to investments, three factors have been determined that relate to positioning, advertising investment, investment in the competitive scene and investment in influencers. Reason why, each of them is developed, through its approach to videogame marketing. The methodology includes a quantitative and qualitative analysis, through a cross-analysis of the variables, in-depth interviews and focus groups. In this way, the collected is discussed, finding findings of vital importance that validate the hypotheses presented. What places the investment in the competitive scene, as the most important investment for the positioning of esports free to play. / Trabajo de investigación