Licensing in Games: Issue 12
As the developer and publisher of games such as Call of Duty, World of Warcraft and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, Activision Blizzard has plenty of experience using licensing partnerships and branded collaborations to amplify its releases. Its latest release, Diablo IV, has been a masterclass in brand collaborations and partnerships.?
Partnerships with Halsey, Panasonic, KFC and Jackson Guitars helped it to break $666m in sales in just five days, making it Activision’s fastest-selling launch. We explore why these partnerships have proven such a hit with players, and how they perfectly capture the Hellish brilliance of the game.?
Elsewhere, we take a look at how video game studios celebrated Pride in June and the lessons we can learn from in-game Pride events and collaborations for more inclusive and engaging CSR campaigns and initiatives. You’ll also find our top picks for video game licensing deals, collaborations and partnerships from the last month.?
Diablo IV: A Masterclass in branded video game collaborations
The release of Diablo IV was impossible to miss, even if you were never a fan of Blizzard’s action RPG dungeon-crawler series. Brand collaborators and partners were counting down to the day of its big release from as far back as December last year, when Halsey took to the stage at The Game Awards 2022 and performed her Diablo IV anthem, ‘Lilith’, to an audience of 103 million people.?
Over in Japan, the Diablo IV countdown kicked off with a?Diablo-themed burger?at Burger King, which eventually made its way to other parts of the world. Not content with one fast food chain,?Activision partnered with KFC?to drive engagement for its beta release by giving away early access codes with KFC meals. Months later, another collaboration offered customers?exclusive in-game rewards?with the purchase of any chicken sandwiches.
Things only got weirder from there. There have been plenty of collaborations and licensing deals between the fashion world and video games, but we never imagined a top-down dungeon crawler set in Hell appearing on the runway at Milan Fashion Week. A collaboration with Copenhagen-based?Han Kj?benhavn?proved us wrong, with three outfits “inspired by the dark side and complimentary conflict” of Diablo IV. And for those that couldn’t make it to?Milan Fashion Week, Blizzard also worked with London-based designer Charlie Cohen on a?Diablo capsule collection,?which culminated in a pop-up event at Selfridges’ Oxford Street store.
Lessons on inclusive gaming partnerships from Pride
You won’t struggle to find examples of massive corporations capitalizing on Pride celebrations out of shameless self-interest. Pride-themed product releases and promotions fall flat when there’s no credible display of diversity initiatives at other times of the year, especially when any money donated to charities pales compared to the revenues they’re generating.??
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LGBTQ+ representation in video games has never been great, but things are improving as diversity and inclusion becomes an?increasingly important topic?in the gaming industry. Microsoft, Bungie, Crystal Dynamics, Blizzard, PlayStation and a massive selection of independent video games all hosted campaigns as part of this year’s Pride, promoting inclusivity while supporting the work of LGBTQI+ charities.?
It isn’t unusual for live-service video games to release new cosmetic items alongside major calendar dates. Now, a growing number of video game companies are using Pride to release Pride-themed cosmetic items, which are typically given away for free or sold with 100% of the proceeds going to LGBTQI+ charities.?
Overwatch 2, the hero-based shooter from Blizzard, received its first Pride-themed update this year, with proceeds from the sale of Pride-themed items going to the National Center for Transgender Equality. The company also released a short story confirming two of its characters are part of the LGBTQI+ community, a notable act considering most game studios avoid depicting the sexual orientation of characters if they aren’t perceived as straight.?
In Brief
Here are some of our favorite brand collaborations, licensing deals and partnerships from the last month:?
In other news…?