We Are Collider creates pre-launch event for Funcom game
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We Are Collider has created a pre-launch amplification experience for Funcom’s Dune: Awakening. It is based around the concept of a ‘global LAN party’.
Taking place between 7 and 11 May during the game’s largest beta launch, the campaign used online and in-person interactive experiences to unite the global gaming community. We Are Collider designed the experience around collaboration because Dune: Awakening is a survival game where cooperation increases players’ chances of success.
The campaign blended live events, influencer live streams, LAN venue activations (allowing gamers from across the world to join each other in Arrakis, the game’s mythical land), a global broadcast and coordinated media outreach to drive maximum awareness. Its central plank was a global livestream that took place on 10 May where ten of the world’s top gaming influencers – including Sodapoppin, Shroud and Emiru who have a combined following of over 40-million on Twitch and YouTube – played Dune: Awakening for the first time across a four-hour live stream.
Hosted in London and featuring exclusive gameplay showcases, developer insights and influencer challenges, the global live stream generated content for multiple territories that brought the game to life for the first time, while doubling as a companion stream for debut players. Alongside content, We Are Collider worked with Funcom to release 50,000 beta codes during the live stream, giving viewers the chance to join the beta weekend and play themselves. Everything was live streamed on YouTube and Twitch.
To support and extend the core live stream, We Are Collider selected 100 global LAN venues, spanning all corners of the globe, including North America, South America, Asia and Europe. Venues were given their own beta access and encouraged to host their own watch parties and play events, extending the event’s global footprint and building a community around the IP pre-launch.
Over the same weekend, We Are Collider also delivered the in-person Dune: Awakening booth at Pax East, a leading gaming convention in Boston, US. The showstopping booth gave thousands of visitors the chance to participate in the beta weekend with live and pre-recorded content from the event being used as part of the campaign’s global broadcasts.
We Are Collider’s CEO, Anton Jerges, added: “This multifaceted campaign not only capitalises on the huge success of the recent Dune films and unpacks a brand new game for the world, it also kickstarts a grassroots community of players. Plus, our ‘global LAN party’ concept neatly mirrors the game’s collaborative nature by making sure everyone felt like they were invited to join in. By partnering with hundreds of gaming clubs, bars and LAN centers worldwide, we created an impactful experience that felt like a collab between the Super Bowl pre-show and BlizzCon.”
