There has been a bit of a hubbub recently over the use of game footage on YouTube. Specifically, is it ok to commercially use recorded video games in 'Let's Play' format videos? This post will answer that question with regards to games made by Unknown Worlds, including Natural Selection 2.

What is 'commercial use?'

YouTube uses the phrase 'commercial use' to define the use of content in the generation of advertising revenue. YouTube splits advertising revenue between the content creator and themselves. A content creator must have the right to use any material they do not own copyright over. For example, recordings of a game. In many jurisdictions the commercial use of recorded content in a review or other piece of substantially transformative content is acceptable. Depending on where you are in the world, this may be termed 'fair use' (United States), 'fair dealing' (Australia and the United Kingdom), or something else.

What is a 'Let's Play?'

A Let's Play (LP) is generally a piece of recorded gameplay with some commentary dubbed over the top. They often involve minimal editing, are easy to make, and can be very entertaining. For prime examples of LP content in a Natural Selection 2 context, see NS2HD. Almost all the videos posted there are LPs. Unlike reviews, 'Let's Play's' are not clearly fair dealing/fair use in many jurisdictions. They exist in a grey area, and therefore YouTube will seek evidence that a content creator has explicit permission from the copyright owner to commercially use recorded content. For example, Valve provides a blanket permission page for content creators to use.

So... Can I do it?

Yes. Following Valve's lead, we now have a video policy page. If YouTube asks you to demonstrate that you have permission to commercially use NS2 content, point them to unknownworlds.com/video-policy. In short, it's ok to earn advertising revenue for LP (or other) videos that you post on YouTube using Unknown Worlds' games. It would of course be perverse if we did not allow this. People being creative with Unknown Worlds products is a wonderful And after all, I got my job at Unknown Worlds by making LPs! - Hugh