What Players See, What Brands Gain

As the video gaming market continues to expand its commercial reach, freemium and gacha-based sectors have started to emerge as key players in this industry. This opens up a new way for marketers to engage their consumers and build brand loyalty in order to sustain players in an industry where revenue streams come only from dedicated players who are repeat purchasers of the in-game content. Infinity Nikki, a dress-up role playing game that was released in December 2024, offers a compelling case study for how visual design alone can support ongoing user engagement and brand loyalty. This thesis investigates how the visual elements in Infinity Nikki function as engagement strategies that contribute to brand loyalty, focusing on both hedonic and utilitarian gratifications within the frameworks of Uses and Gratifications Theory (UGT) and Consumer Brand Engagement (CBE). The central research question asks: In what ways do the engagement strategies in Infinity Nikki build brand loyalty? To address this, the study examines three sub-questions: how visual elements reinforce brand identity and encourage ongoing engagement, how utilitarian and hedonic gratifications are activated through interface design, and how these strategies align with the cognitive processing, affection, and activation dimensions of CBE. To conduct its research the study utilizes a qualitative visual semiotic method, with a dataset composed of curated in-game screenshots grouped into five categories: in-game advertising, environmental design, character design, achievement systems, and avatar customization. Screenshots are analyzed using denotative and connotative categories, and structured with semiotic concepts such as salience, attributes and setting. Ultimately, through the findings of this research it was uncovered how Infinity Nikki integrates hedonic and utilitarian engagement in its semiotic design to motivate enagegment and consequently create a satisfying gaming experience for the players so that they become repeat consumers. The exploration of CBE also revealed that the game carefully crafts it visual presentation in a way that build and improves the relationship the players have with the brand. Through this it was illustrated just how these improved relationships are elicited in a way that promotes engagement and fosters brand loyalty due to how the players feel positive emotions, absorb themselves and dedicate their time to the brand of Infinity Nikki. The study concludes that Infinity Nikki builds brand loyalty by encouraging engagement through carefully designed visual semiotics that consistently align with player motivations and needs. These cues reinforce an experience that feels both rewarding and satisfying. In doing so, the game turns interaction into investment and offers insights into how visual engagement strategies can be used as brand loyalty fostering tools.