Collaboration

The Endless
Possibilities

Game Collaborations Continue to Evolve and Expand

Breaking Down
the Boundaries Between the Real World
and the Virtual World

Games have recently been blurring the boundaries between the real world and the virtual world through collaborations. A typical example is the medieval-style MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game) Black Desert, a game that has gained attention for its novel collaborations. The move has started to expand contact points with players and has led to collaborations with various domestic (Korean) and foreign brands for products such as gum, gim (dried seaweed), shampoo, underwear and canned mackerel.

Last year, Black Desert expanded the horizon of game collaborations even more with something no one could have ever imagined: a collaboration with the supercar Bugatti Chiron. Armor, harnesses, earrings and decorations adorned with the representative design elements of the Bugatti Chiron were implemented as game items. An in-game quest was held during the event in which, upon successful completion of the quest, players were awarded an item that utilized the characteristics of the sports car and increased the speed of their horse.

As such, collaborations that commercialize game characters or worldviews or meld brand characteristics into games are yielding great results. A Pearl Abyss official said, ¡°From the point of view of game producers, collaborations with other brands can allow us to approach storytelling in different ways. Players feel excited when they encounter real-world items in the games they¡¯re playing.¡±

The Melding of Two Worlds

Collaboration with other IP characters is actively undertaken. Recently, KartRider Rush+ presented a cooperative work with Super Sonic coinciding with the Second live-action film release of Super Sonic. In this particular collaboration, Sonic¡¯s main trait, its fast speed, mingles perfectly with the racing game, KartRider, encouraging high expectations from gamers.

Furthermore, game collaboration is attempting to meld two worlds. The recent news of a collaboration between the dark fantasy world game Lineage W and the famous Japanese manga Berserk has made fans of both incredibly excited. Lineage W is going beyond simply using the characters from Berserk as Lineage W¡¯s characters. The game is preparing for a collaboration that will create the perfect harmony of the two worlds by naturally fusing the story of Berserk with the story of Lineage W. Lineage W¡¯s collaboration with Berserk foreshadowed collaborations with legendary global IP. It is expected that the two worlds will continue to expand and become a familiar yet novel world.

Nearly as Fun as Games Themselves

For all that there are many reasons why game collaborations have a high success rate, the main reason appears to be the intense nature of gamers. ¡°Games have had a long connection with players and a lively community. We often receive feedback from our collaboration partners that gamers are more immersed in the collaborations than general consumers,¡± a Pearl Abyss official said.

Game collaborations have constantly been expanding and breaking the boundaries between the real world and the virtual world to create a fusion of both worlds. Watching the endless possibilities of game collaborations will continue to be as exciting as actually playing the game.