The Rise of #cozygames on TikTok

December 13, 2021

The Rise of #cozygames on TikTok

For many above the age of 20, TikTok might as well still be called musical.ly and mainly feature dance challenges for teens. But with one billion users it has since then become a very exciting platform with unique trends that are amplified by TikTok’s algorithm. Luckily, that algorithm is pretty capable and made us stumble across the hashtag #cozygames.

Videos under this hashtag are made mostly by young, female creators and follow a similar pattern: The creator films their laptop, PC or Nintendo Switch, which shows a trailer or some gameplay. Combined with a very warm filter, some decoration and candles, music added in-app (lo-fi versions of the Fairy Fountain song from The Legend of Zelda are especially popular at the moment) and a soft-spoken voice-over. Thus, a very short but on-point review is created.

These videos are constantly gaining in popularity, the hashtag rose from 18.3m views in June to 83.2 million views in November. One of the most popular creators is @leandria (3,7 Million Likes, 107k Followers). Her best performing video is on the upcoming game Stray, which gathered more than 5m views at this point.

It's quite common for #cozygame videos to be about unreleased games, there is a fair amount of them that only show the trailer and a summary of the game. This might be the case because many creators have to post multiple videos a day. On TikTok, users are greeted by a For You Page, which shows the content the algorithm assumes the user wants to see, but not necessarily what they have subscribed to. Creators have to combat the fact that only a percentage of their followers will get to see their content by putting out more content on TikTok than on many other platforms, so in the #CozyGame corner they cast a wide net for games that fit their aesthetic and mood and are willing to look into small and upcoming releases.

This might be a great opportunity for indie games that fit into this niche to create a buzz before the release of their projects. Since creating a video on TikTok is much more accessible than on other platforms, collaborating with creators or being discovered by them requires less effort for both sides, but at the same time has the potential to reach a huge audience via the For You Page.

We were delighted to see that some gems from Hamburg based studios have already found their way into the #cozygames, such as XEL by Tiny Roar and mooneye studios first game as a publisher, Haven Park. We’re definitely keeping an eye on this wholesome hashtag!

If you would like to know more about this trend, check out this interview with its pioneer Kennedy.

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