7 reasons to get excited about the new .GAMES domain

Today marks the start of the Early Access Program (EAP) for the .GAMES extension, and we could not be more excited for this valuable domain to get in the hands of our users. .GAMES has the potential to be one of the biggest New Domains on the market, and you can be one of the first people to use it. These are our top seven reasons for being excited for the release of the .GAMES domain.

1. The video game industry is booming

According to market research firm Newzoo, video games are predicted to become a $99.6 billion industry this year, as mobile gaming finally overtakes PC and console gaming. China, in particular, is seeing exponential growth in video game purchases, with the Asia-Pacific region predicted to make up 50% of gaming growth worldwide in 2016.

2. Tabletop gaming is a thriving industry as well

Tabletop gaming (including board games, miniatures, collectable games, and more), is a growing, multimillion dollar industry, according to an ICv2 study on hobby gaming. From 2014 to 2015 alone, the market in the U.S. and Canada grew from $700 million to $880 million in revenue.

3. VR and AR games have massive opportunity for growth

If the wild success of Pokemon Go isn’t evidence enough of the potential for Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR), maybe these stats will convince you: Analysts predict that revenue from AR/VR-related businesses could reach $150 billion by 2020. Startups within this industry will need a powerful online presence as these markets continue to emerge, and .GAMES fits the bill perfectly.

4. Major brands have already applied for .GAMES domains

During the Sunrise period, an impressive lineup of companies—including the likes of Nintendo, Apple, Electronic Arts, Disney, and Blizzard Entertainment—submitted applications to own .GAMES domains that use their trademarks. The biggest names in the gaming industry are taking note of the potential of .GAMES, which is a good indicator that the extension will continue to pick up steam over the upcoming months.

5. Developers are actively looking for better discovery tools for their games

A 2015 study from the International Game Developers Association found that 42% of respondents believe that finding better game discovery tools is very important for future industry growth. The .GAMES domain offers a valuable opportunity to help game developers extend their reach by using a domain ending that appeals to their audience. Integrating the powerful keyword “games” into your URL is another helpful way developers can inform their audience about their product in a succinct way.

6. There’s an incredible existing market for .GAMES

Over 400,000 unique website owners have a URL that includes the keyword “games”—so just imagine how much easier it would be for them to have games to the right of the dot. Not only can the .GAMES extension shorten URLs that end in the word “games,” but this data also demonstrates that almost half a million users already have websites relevant to this domain.

7. We have a .GAMES contest coming up that’s going to be epic

We can’t say too much for now, but we’re working on a huge project that is going to be tons of fun and could earn you some seriously cool prizes. Subscribe to our blog for more information on this contest in the coming weeks.

How to register your own .GAMES domain

From now until Tuesday, Sept. 20, interested registrants can get their own .GAMES extension at a premium price during EAP. The price will gradually decrease each day as more and more buyers register valuable .GAMES domains. As of Wednesday, Sept. 21, .GAMES will reach General Availability and can be registered by anyone at its standard price.