Expanding the Target Market of a Beloved Niche Horror Game

With the launch of Resident Evil Village, Capcom needed to reach players outside of its survival horror niche. Although Resident Evil is a beloved brand with a 25-year legacy and a dedicated cult following, in order to achieve aggressive sales goals, they had to find a way to attract action-adventure gamers who might be averse to a total horror experience. Our answer was to market Resident Evil Village like a movie—focusing on its rich narrative to broaden its appeal among players who crave story-driven entertainment.

CREATIVE PLATFORM

The casually dismissed warning of a local legend is the premise of countless great stories and is relatable for any audience. We leveraged the allure of lore to draw in action-adventure players with cautionary tales and the intrigue of what happens when they come to life.

PAID MEDIA

Video Series

From web direct and pre-order to launch and post-launch, we created more than 90 videos to target and retarget a wide audience of fans and action-adventure gamers. Using custom ink-style animations reminiscent of classic storybooks, we wove together footage from Resident Evil Village trailers to unveil folkloric villains that recall werewolves, witches and vampires. The video series teased the tales behind the creatures, their environments and their connection to the larger plot.

Launch Ad - Awareness

Pre-Order Ad - Phase 1

Pre-Order Ad - Phase 2

Launch Ad - Consideration

Launch Ad - Accolades

REDDIT ACTIVATION

The Merchant's Quest

To give players a feel for Resident Evil Village without spoiling any of its content, we crafted a week-long alternate reality game (ARG) called the Merchant’s Quest. The ARG told the story of a humble village merchant in need of help to restore a collection of valuable books—inviting players to work together to aid him by solving intricate puzzles similar to the challenges in Resident Evil Games. Reddit served as the hub, with clues hidden in images, videos, audio and other multimedia sprinkled around the internet.

10

DAYS

24

CHALLENGES

68K+

TOTAL VIEWS

PROMOTED CONTENT

ORGANIC SOCIAL

Inspect This

As players unravel the mysteries of the village, they find clues on scraps of paper and other ephemera. This organic social series was inspired by the messages people can inspect in the game, adding another layer to the story and hinting at details yet to be revealed.

ORGANIC SOCIAL

Iconic Clues

To pique Resident Evil fans’ interest in an upcoming online showcase, we created a countdown series that paid homage to the previous titles in the series. Each post highlighted an iconic object from past games, paired with a mysterious message about the virtual event.

DISPLAY ADS

Animated Banners

Applying the ink-inspired look of the videos to animated display ads helped make them instantly recognizable, keeping Resident Evil Village top of mind and giving our audience the sense that the game is everywhere.

LANDING PAGE

Microsite

The Resident Evil landing page got a full redesign to incorporate the ink aesthetic, tagline and messaging established throughout the campaign—creating a cohesive experience from the first video view to purchasing the game.

TWITCH ACTIVATION

Streamer Pack

To engage fans and increase views for the web direct, Capcom invited Twitch users to become official co-streamers of the event. We built a branded frame for the co-streamers to use to show their official status, complete with animated elements, buttons and custom screens.
Transparency in Coverage Disclosure