Secondary Analysis of Interviews About the Factors Driving the Membership Growth of Chess.com
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Abstract
Online gaming companies focus on flashiness and continuous updates, operating more like casinos offering addictive loot boxes, but the recent rise of online chess puts that model into question. This qualitative research study investigates the question of what are the factors that increase or decrease the global number of chess players. Using reflexive thematic analysis on secondary data of interviews with global chess industry experts Erik Allebest, Viswanathan Anand, and Magnus Carlsen revealed 11 themes that affect the growth of Chess.com membership. Factors that increase chess growth were good management, passionate stakeholders, global digital culture, social media marketing, competitive events, game improvements, and India market. Factors that decrease chess growth were cheating, technical difficulties, unsustainable career, and restricted markets. Supported by passionate fans, the free, open-source, 1,500-year-old game of chess can still compete in today's online gaming industry which suggests that previous assumptions about game design and marketing should be revised.
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