Game publishers that don’t support YouTube monetisation

Several prominent YouTubers have been affected by a new policy (dubbed Content ID System) that aims to decrease the amount of advertising revenue that videos are earning when they feature content that belongs to an original copyright holder.

The policy is beginning to negatively affect the “Let’s Play” gaming community on the video service – prominent personalities who provide lengthy play sessions of popular games, often with quirky, humorous, and informative commentary.

Read more about the situation as it developed here: YouTube policy destroying the “Let’s Play” community?

The table below contains the current policies announced by the game developers who will be making use of the Content ID System and it doesn’t bode well for smaller channels who are not affiliates or managed under a bigger brand.

The information for the game publishers below was collected by Alloyseven.

Game Developer/Publisher	Video uploads allowed	Video monetisation allowed
Activision	No	No
Bethesda Softworks	No	No
Bungie	No	No
Capcom	Yes	No
GungHo Online	Yes	No
Microsoft Studios	Yes	No
Natsume	Yes	No
Naughty Dog	Yes	No
Nintendo	Yes	No
NIS America	Yes	No
Rockstar	Yes	No
Take-Two Interactive	Yes	No
Sega	No	No
SNK	No	No
Square Enix	No	No
TecmoKoei	Yes	No
Telltale Games	Yes	No

Across the Internet, videos are popping up from YouTubers to help others avoid copyright claims on their videos. A list of tips is being passed around online and covers the things that would most likely have your advertising income removed:

Don’t include in-game music that is copyright-protected.
Don’t include footage of game trailers for 10 consecutive seconds or more.
Don’t include footage of games for 10 consecutive seconds or more.
Don’t mention the names of game publishers, the game’s title, or the game’s developers too often.
Make more videos about indie games instead.

It remains to be seen if smaller independent developers and other publishers will allow the monetisation of videos that feature gameplay of their products. It makes sense that smaller studios that do not have big advertising budgets would see the benefits of having people on YouTube play their games.

But for the bigger publishers who would prefer to earn money on their intellectual property in any way possible? They’re going to block those YouTubers who play their games. These publishers will therefore no longer receive free advertising on a platform that spreads information faster than word of mouth.