Between Expectation and Market Success: Hype as A Consumer Decision-Making Mediator in the Computer Game Industry

ABSTRACT The phenomenon of hype is a central element of the contemporary computer game market, yet its role as an independent factor mediating consumer decision-making remains under-researched. This article aims to identify the importance of hype in consumers’ purchasing decisions and to assess whether hype can be regarded as a commercialization tool in the computer game industry. The study is based on an integrative literature review and a multiple case study of four AAA titles: Red Dead Redemption II, Cyberpunk 2077, Grand Theft Auto VI and The Witcher 4. Gartner’s Hype Cycle is adapted to the computer game market and combined with marketing indicators (e.g., trailer views, social media engagement, pre-orders, sales dynamics, user and critic ratings) to propose an operationalization of hype across pre-release and post-release phases. The analysis shows that hype is not a spontaneous phenomenon but the outcome of deliberate and capital-intensive promotional strategies that can significantly shape consumer expectations, emotions and fear of missing out, and thereby influence purchasing decisions. At the same time, mismanaged hype may lead to disappointment, reputational damage and regulatory scrutiny, as illustrated by the case of Cyberpunk 2077. The article concludes that hype functions as a powerful, albeit risky, commercialization tool.