Flinders University researchers have published a study on brand advocacy among video game fans, focusing on online communities built around Call of Duty and Battlefield.
The study analysed more than 23,000 Reddit comments to assess how players express loyalty to the two long-running franchises. It found that criticism from committed fans often sits alongside strong support for the same brand, challenging the assumption that negative commentary signals disengagement.
Led by Dr Naser Pourazad, Senior Lecturer in Marketing at Flinders University, the research was carried out with Dr Ehsan Abedin and Dr Jacqueline Burgess. It examined how consumers in gaming forums defend, promote and critique their preferred titles in ways that differ sharply between communities.
The findings show that Call of Duty players tend to express loyalty through emotional stories and shared experiences. Battlefield players, by contrast, are more likely to rally around technical discussion and detailed analysis of game mechanics.
Despite those differences, both communities showed strong forms of advocacy. The study identified six dimensions of that behaviour: Brand Positivity, Brand Defence, Virtual Positive Expression, Brand Zest, Brand Knowledge and Brand Appraisal.
One of the central findings was that harsh criticism can reflect attachment rather than hostility. In active fan communities, players who point out flaws in a game may also be the first to defend it when it comes under attack from outside the group.
"This isn't just about games," said Dr Naser Pourazad, Senior Lecturer in Marketing at Flinders University. "As brands try to build passionate fanbases, our study shows the traditional marketing playbook is broken."
The researchers used large language models to process large volumes of informal online discussion rather than relying on surveys or lab-based responses. The approach was intended to capture how loyalty is expressed in public spaces, where players debate games in their own language.
"We used advanced AI to settle a massive pop-culture debate: Why are the fanbases of popular video games Call of Duty and Battlefield so fiercely loyal, yet so different from each other?" said Dr Pourazad.
He described the dataset as raw and heavily shaped by the slang and tone of online communities. "Instead of asking people questions in a lab, we used Large Language Models, advanced artificial intelligence systems designed to understand and process volumes of text, to analyse more than 23,000 raw, unfiltered, slang-heavy Reddit comments and see how brand loyalty actually happens in the community," he said.
Different loyalties
The study suggests there is no single route to building a committed following. Instead, fan loyalty appears to emerge from community-specific behaviour, language and norms, even when the result is equally intense support for a brand.
That conclusion runs counter to standard marketing assumptions that a successful fanbase should show uniform enthusiasm or mirror official messaging. In the gaming communities studied, support was often expressed in argumentative, critical or highly specialised ways.
"Genuine advocacy emerges from consumer experiences, rather than promotional activities," said Dr Pourazad.
Critical support
The research suggests criticism and defence often operate together rather than in opposition. A player who complains about design choices, updates or technical issues may still see themselves as protecting the brand's long-term health.
"Complaining is actually a sign of deep brand loyalty. Traditional marketing says customer complaints are bad, but our research proved the opposite: in highly engaged communities, Brand Appraisal, harsh critique of product flaws, and Brand Defence, protecting the brand from outsiders, go hand in hand.
"Gamers don't critique because they hate the brand; they critique because they are highly invested and want the brand to succeed.
"If an outsider attacks the brand, these same critics instantly pivot to defend it," said Dr Pourazad.
The findings also point to limits on how companies can participate in these spaces. Fans in the communities studied did not use the language of corporate marketing when expressing support, and the research suggests official intervention may weaken trust if it appears too polished.
"Stop trying to silence constructive criticism. In the video game world, suppressing player critique in forums actually weakens their emotional bond with the brand," said Dr Pourazad.
He added that brand language needs to reflect how communities actually speak to each other. "Our AI investigation found a complete absence of commercial or promotional language among true brand advocates," he said. "If a company tries to inject polished, corporate marketing into these spaces, fans reject it. True advocacy is peer-to-peer and highly authentic."
The research was published in the Journal of Product & Brand Management.