“Retention is the lifeblood of any business and streaming is no different”: Alex Casassovici, CEO and founder, Azarus
The video game streaming and content creation industry has seen continuous growth over the last decade, with the scene becoming more competitive with each passing month.
Creator versatility and user retention have never been more vital for a streamer’s growth, and industry leads have been quite vocal about how it takes a little more than just talent, creativity, and persistence to be successful in the field.
In a conversation with Abhishek Mallick of Sportskeeda Esports, Alex Casassovici, CEO and founder of Azarus, opened up about some of his thoughts on the video game streaming industry and where it stands today.
He spoke about how Azarus’ unique overlay is playing a key role in improving user retention, and why live events like the Stream Awards are going to continue to play a big part in the industry.
Here is an excerpt of the conversation.
Alex Casassovici, CEO and founder of Azarus on the video game streaming and content creation industry
Q. Alex, tell us a bit about yourself. How has your time in the video games and esports industry been so far, and what led to the formation of Azarus?
Alex: I’ve been a serial entrepreneur with successful exits in mobile, blockchain and VR, so I feel like Azarus is really an extension of my efforts to support technology. Video games are such a dynamic industry, with these massive communities that gravitate to streamers, games, and competitive esports.
Team Azarus has been having a whirlwind week at #GDC, building bridges with new partners to keep bringing the best to our awesome community.
For now a short break and a little bit of March Madness; hunting down a free t-shirt's way harder than a stack of AZA credits, turns out! https://t.co/bt1H7bAjWM
I founded Azarus to help support live streamers who need to consistently find ways to engage and retain viewers. It really started with our collaboration with Ubisoft, who allowed us to demonstrate on one of their biggest IPs, Rainbow 6 Siege, how we could change how streams are shaped.
We also see Azarus as a powerful tool for livestreaming live events - whether it’s esports competitions or more social events like The Streamer Awards, which we created a feature trivia game for as a sponsor.
Q. What are your thoughts on the content creation industry today, and how have live streaming events and games been lucrative career options for so many?
Alex: I have a lot of thoughts about where this industry is today, but to me, the most important reality is that this is a space that continues to grow and become more and more competitive. Twitch streamers can reach a massive audience - 2.83 million average concurrent viewers so far this year, and yet, there are more than 8.49 million monthly broadcasters and over 103,000 concurrent channels on Twitch.
And @LudwigAhgren gets Streamer of the Year!
Did you get the last award of the year right?
#StreamerAwards https://t.co/VDTDX6In5D
It takes talent, creativity, and persistence — maybe even a little luck — to find your way in such a competitive space. That’s why we see the top streamers starting to diversify their efforts with things like The Streamer Awards and why we think live events are going to continue to be a massive part of Twitch.
Azarus-enabled streams have had some good metrics that show increased viewer retention and engagement. So, while there are some clear winners in the space, we see ourselves as a great opportunity for streamers to give back to their communities or help them build deeper connections with those watching them.
Q. How important is viewer retention when it comes to helping a content creator grow? Tell us a bit about Azaurs’ overlay system and how it’s helping streamers increase audience retention and engagement.
Alex: Retention is the lifeblood of any business, and streaming is no different. Keeping viewers watching means you get to show more advertisements, better please your sponsors, and get more opportunities to grow a deeper relationship with your community.
Azarus has created an AI-based overlay system that enables streamers to turn on hyper-casual games that engage and retain viewers. As players participate in the overlay game, they’re more likely to keep watching, and as the initial implementation allows for trivia that includes attentive questions, those paying more attention are rewarded for it.
Q. Talk to us about Azarus Challenges, the first game on the platform which is featuring titles such as League of Legends and Rainbow Six: Siege, with Apex Legends soon to follow. What kind of digital rewards can Azarus users look forward to when engaging with the Overlay Games?
Alex: Azarus Challenges is our overarching name for our trivia games - which are really the first game on our platform. We offer three types of questions:
First is “Attentive,” in which, as mentioned in a prior answer, our AI-enabled system can capture game data and push questions about what recently happened on stream.
The second is “Predictive,” where the questions let players pick what happens next on stream and in-game, so they’re committed to seeing it through and not skipping over to another stream or something else entirely.
Make sure to tune into @StreamerAwards tomorrow and play along with @azarusio! #ad https://t.co/gq8Pbzs4l7
The final one is “Lore,” and here, players who love a game like League of Legends can show off their deep understanding of the game’s backstories.
So when you answer these questions correctly, you’re rewarded with credits (we call them AZAs), and you can then take these credits to the Azarus Store. There are tens of thousands of different rewards there, including in-game currencies, in-game items, and entire game copies for top console and PC games like Horizon Forbidden West and Ghostwire Tokyo.
Q. Which games have been having the highest engagement from audiences on the platform? Why do you feel those titles are the ones with the higher statistic for audience participation?
Alex: We just launched League of Legends earlier this year and are seeing some great results. Rainbow 6: Siege also does well, but we really like to see how the team at For Honor has been using our games across all their channels.
Azarus Challenges debuted on their bi-weekly show, the Warriors Den, then made it to all their streamers through a Creator Program they managed, and finally to their esports show, the Dominion Series.
With a consistent use of Azarus Challenges, they managed to build a strong community with engagement rates that rival that of much bigger titles.
Q. What would you say are some of the biggest obstacles that streamers and content creators new to the field face today? What are some of the ways to work around these issues and grow at a steady pace?
Alex: Well, the first obstacle is that there are just so many streamers, so many live streams - and with so many options to choose from, it is vital that a streamer builds a community, not just an audience.
There needs to be real interactions, and that’s where Azarus can be an additive feature for livestreams. Azarus also offers a way to reward these community members - by offering access to the Azarus Store and its massive selection of digital offering.
Azarus is a sponsor of the @StreamerAwards ! Tune in March 12th @7PM PT on @QTCinderella’s Twitch channel to play along with the awards segment of the show. https://t.co/ALIxfARMel
Q. Which streamers and content creators have taken to the Azarus platform? What would you say were some of the key factors that helped them improve their audience base?
Alex: We have over 300 streamers on the Azarus platform, and this year, we were able to work with some great talent to bring them on the platform. When we launched League of Legends as one of our supported games, we were able to work with some amazing talent, such as Caedrel, CookieLoLxx, IMLS, lol-nemesis and Tarzaned.
We also were recently an official sponsor of the Streamer Awards, one of the biggest events to happen in the streaming industry this year. In terms of what Azarus can bring to streamers as its core, Azarus is a tool for rewarding fandom.
The more you watch and the more you play, the more you as a viewer are rewarded. You get to enjoy your favorite streams and win prizes just to play along. For streamers, this is a win-win situation as they have a way of giving back to their fans for supporting them.
By offering this extra level of engagement, they keep more eyeballs in their streams for longer. On average we’ve seen that viewers stay two times (2X) longer on a stream where Azarus is active.
Q. What are your thoughts on content versatility, and why creators should diversify on the type of games that that they stream and make videos on?
Alex: I think there’s different types of versatility, and playing a variety of games isn’t the only way there. Just look at League of Legends, which can offer many varieties of content, including educational, competitive, or as a social experience.
Even when you just look at one of those topics - say educational content. A good streamer could break that down into different types of content, be it playing and sharing tips on how to excel in different positions, or item builds, or how to be a better teammate. Being a versatile streamer isn’t just about breadth of scope, it’s also about depth with the most popular games. .
Q. What’s next for Azarus? What can users look forward to from the platform in the coming months?
Alex: We’re getting ready to formally launch a trivia game for VALORANT, and soon afterward, Apex Legends. We’re also actively building a calendar of live events where Azarus can be an active part of the live steam experience. It’s an exciting time for us as we are looking at games, live events led by streamers, and even live streamed sports.