Why Gaming Communities Matter

The gaming community is one of the world’s most connected, yet paradoxically isolated demographics. Players naturally collaborate collaborate and support each other in virtual worlds, but translating that same support-seeking behavior to real life remains a challenge. 

Our 2024 campaign proved that gaming audiences are ready for genuine mental health conversations, delivering record-breaking engagement and overwhelmingly positive feedback.

Building on that success, we’ve partnered with a new wave of prominent gaming creators to produce content that feels truly native to gaming culture, authentic, engaging, and stigma-reducing.

The Campaign in Action

Over the past weeks, eight American Twitch streamers, well-known faces in the gaming community, have gone live with dedicated 988 content. Among them were JoshSeki and JeromeASF, two of the biggest names in the scene.

Each stream is carefully integrated into into the gaming experience through multiple touchpoints.

• Streamers deliver authentic ad reads, comparing in-game support to real-life help-seeking.,
• Custom 988 overlays appear throughout their broadcasts.
• Timed chat messages gently remind viewers that “everyone needs support sometimes.”
• Pinned messages reinforce the availability of 988’s free and confidential support provided by skilled and compassionate counselors.

The real impact happens during gameplay itself. Streamers tackle custom-made “support challenges”: moments where they intentionally seek help from teammates or their community during difficult game segments, then drawing clear and relatable parallels to seeking help in real life. Whether it’s calling for backup during a raid or asking chat for strategy advice, each moment reinforces that seeking help is not just normal, but essential.

These aren’t scripted PSAs. They’re unscripted conversations between content creators and their communities about the reality of needing support, both in games and in real life. The integration feels so natural that viewers often don’t realize they’re experiencing a mental health campaign – they’re just watching their favorite streamers create meaningful content, which they love, even during ad reads, with chats going wild: “W sponsor!”

Every stream, every clip, every community conversation works toward a simple goal: making it as normal to ask for help in real life as it is to ask for support in gaming. Hero videos, using clips from the streams to spread the word, are used as ad assets to expand the message of 988 to a much broader and bigger audience.

Campaign impact

The statistics speak for themselves: our 2024 campaign saw 18% of concurrent viewers click through to the 988lifeline.org website to learn more about 988 resources, with paid partnership segments actually increasing rather than decreasing viewership. More importantly, the overwhelmingly positive community feedback showed that gaming audiences are hungry for authentic mental health conversations. We are looking forward to being able to share the first statistics of the 2025 campaign.

In addition to  streamer activations, Vibrant and The Invaders launched a banner campaign, of which we have the first numbers: over 100 million impressions across U.S. websites and social media in only a few weeks.

Each striking ad consists of a gamer looking directly at the viewer and asking for support, mfirroring the in-game call for help and making the message clear; everyone needs support sometimes, in games and in real life.

Games for Change

This is only the beginning. Each stream and conversation builds toward a culture where “everyone needs support sometimes, in games and IRL” isn’t just a message, but a lived reality. The gaming community has always been about connection, collaboration, and supporting your teammates. Now, we’re extending that support beyond the game.

Recently, our team had the opportunity to meet with Nicole Twohig, Director of Marketing and Communications Campaigns and Divendra Jaffar, AVP of Public Relations and Engagement from Vibrant in person at the annual Games for Change Festival in New York City, alongside our media partners and colleagues. After years of digital collaboration, these face-to-face conversations reinforced the profound impact of our shared mission.

Watching industry leaders discuss how games and influencers are sparking vital conversations around mental health reminded us that this work isn’t just about campaign metrics. It’s about building a culture where our message – “everyone needs support sometimes, games and IRL” – becomes a lived reality. Sharing the story of our campaigns for the 988 Lifeline with Vibrant on stage was an amazing experience.

If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health challenges, alcohol or drug problems, emotional distress, or loneliness, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline provides judgment-free support 24/7. Text or call 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org.