The gaming trade is an absolute monetary juggernaut nowadays, with online game firms arising with progressive methods to develop its value and attain a wider viewers. One such approach has been using on the phenomenon that’s the Korean Wave – the dramatic rise of recognition for Korean tradition all over the world. It’s sparked many collaborative efforts between the massive hitters of gaming and the Ok-pop sector in recent times.
So, with out additional ado, let’s have a look at 5 of one of the best and most attention-grabbing Ok-pop x Gaming collaborations.
League of Legends x Ok/DA
Kicking off the listing is Riot Video games and their ventures with digital lady group Ok/DA. Yep, these do exist.
Earlier than right this moment you may need thought Ok/DA was merely referring to your kills, deaths and assists stats in Name of Obligation. Properly Ok/DA additionally refers to a Ok-pop group composed of Champions from the League of Legends online game – Ahri, Akali, Evelynn and Kai’Sa.
Ahri, Akali, Evelynn and Kai’Sa are merely avatars nonetheless, for the voices are supplied by actual singers. Whereas Miyeon and Soyeon of (G)I-DLE, Madison Beer, and Jaira Burns, are the common members offering these voices, different artists have taken on the roles too together with just a few women from TWICE. Their mixture of kinds ensures a superb mix of fantastic vocals and terrific rap, all wrapped up along with a wholesome dose of perspective.
Since Ok/DA’s creation by Riot Video games in 2018, the four-piece act have launched quite a few singles together with ‘Pop/Stars’ and ‘The Baddest’. Each tracks reached primary within the World Digital Music Gross sales chart, thus bringing extra consideration to LoL. Moreover, they’ve been the main focus of in-game beauty skins primarily based on the band’s aesthetics within the music movies, hoping to get followers to spend further money to indicate off their love for them.
Having additionally featured within the Simply Dance sequence, Teamlight Ways and Legends of Runeterra, who is aware of the place or when Ok/DA will showcase their fierce perspective subsequent.
We may all use some MORE Ok/DA in our lives.
PUBG x NewJeans
Image this: You’re scouring the battlefield with an assault rifle in hand while you see a vibrant playground within the distance. Upon nearer inspection, there’s an precise music stage filled with different gamers, dancing and having fun with life and not using a care on the planet. That’s the NewJeans impact!
The oldsters behind the battle royale extravaganza PUBG: Battlegrounds actually haven’t been complacent for the final seven years. With new maps, modes and different content material recurrently launched, Krafton Inc have saved the sport alive by numerous means. Their newest effort to have interaction its participant base includes a partnership with the most well liked Ok-pop lady group in the mean time, NewJeans. It’s not only a few skins nonetheless, oh no, they got here and completely took over.
A lot to the delight of their bunnies (the lovable title given to the fandom), the Taego map turned a magical place for survivors to roam. There’s a flowery stage, music outlets filled with reproduction merchandise, jukeboxes, billboards and rabbits. On a wider scale, a bunch of costume units, faceplates, sprays and weapon skins let players equipment out their characters. Being able to take pleasure in a choice of NewJeans tracks, like ‘Ditto’ and ‘OMG’, whereas taking part in is simply the icing on the cake.
Don’t be Tremendous Shy, go test it out earlier than the crossover involves an finish.
Overwatch 2 x LE SSERAFIM
It’s one factor for artists to have in-game themed objects, however LE SSERAFIM took it up a notch by having their very personal limited-time sport mode in Overwatch 2.
On the again finish of 2023, lady group LE SSERAFIM launched a music video for ‘Good Night time’, a track celebrating nights out with mates. The girlies have been in real-life kind alongside animated fan-favourite Overwatch 2 heroes, who’re racing to a LE SSERAFIM live performance. It marked the beginning of a collaboration which even noticed the group carry out a thirty minute setlist at BlizzCon, that includes ‘ANTIFRAGILE’, ‘Unforgiven’ and extra.
This all led to the inception of a brand new sport mode, Live performance Conflict, which was out there to play for just a few weeks. Basically, it was a 3v3 mode that had you battling for tickets to a fictional LE SSERAFIM live performance. Not solely did you must destroy ticket machines in Busan and outscore the opponent, however you additionally needed to cope with the AI managed Fawksey James (Junkrat) stealing from each groups. Absolute carnage.
After all, new cosmetics have been on supply to buy resembling legendary skins Dazzle D.Va, Traysi Tracer, Kira-Kira Kiriko, BB Brigitte, and Slay Star Sombra. It wouldn’t be a themed occasion and not using a victory pose, an emote, a reputation card and a attraction, offering extra LE SSERAFIM-inspired incentives to encourage gamers to spend cash.
Whereas it didn’t final lengthy, no less than the music video lives on for us to take pleasure in till LE SSERAFIM embark upon their subsequent enterprise into gaming.
Fortnite x BTS
In an inventory filled with insanely proficient lady teams, it takes a particular Korean boy group to have the ability to declare a spot. It’s none aside from the Bangtan Boys, BTS!
From Goku and Batman, to John Cena and Lara Croft, the quantity of crossovers there’s been in Fortnite is past perception. Moderately than sticking to the pattern and including BTS into the sport as skins although, EPIC GAMES ready one thing a bit completely different in 2020. The Ok-pop group debuted a choreography MV for the smash hit single ‘Dynamite’, permitting individuals to look at it premiere on the socially-focused get together royale island.
That wasn’t all although, with a Dynamite-inspired emotes bundle out there in trade for V-Bucks within the Fortnite retailer to indicate assist for the group. It will need to have gone down nicely as a result of BTS acquired one more emote in 2023 known as Run It Down, that includes a snippet of music from the hip hop observe ‘Run’.
If there have been nonetheless anybody who hadn’t heard of BTS, their involvement within the vastly fashionable Fortnite, in addition to their stints in Simply Dance and restricted version BT21 Amongst Us outfits, would have certainly helped enhance their reputation additional.
PUBG x BLACKPINK
A number of Guinness World Data, numerous music awards, honorary MBEs from King Charles, and endorsements galore with Adidas and Samsung, however BLACKPINK craved extra. They wished that Hen Dinner!
BLACKPINK set the usual for gaming crossovers, with PUBG and PUBG Cellular benefiting massively from the partnership. Individuals who had by no means picked up a controller earlier than have been downloading the cell model in 2020 upon studying that Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa and Rosé often play PUBG. To not point out the truth that the themed occasion meant you possibly can use the lightstick hammer as a weapon, take heed to ‘Lovesick Women’, and assist them in-game to earn rewards for your self.
In the course of the preliminary collaboration, and quite a few instances since, they’ve turned crates pink, graffitied partitions and launched a cool helmet. A complete host of outfits have made an look too, enabling BLINKS (the fandom) the prospect to decorate up in what was worn in a number of the official music movies.
Nonetheless clearly unhappy, BLACKPINK launched a music video titled ‘Prepared for Love’, with all 4 members reworked into in-game characters. This was merely a taster as they then carried out a digital live performance that includes a compilation of hits – ‘Ddu-Du Ddu-Du’, ‘Kill This Love’, ‘How You Like That’, and ‘Prepared for Love’. In keeping with reviews, over 15 million gamers attended the live performance, whereas the music video for ‘Prepared for Love’ has breached the 80 million viewer mark.
The continuing success of the PUBG x BLACKPINK partnership certainly proves why we’ll undoubtedly see many extra crossovers with the Ok-pop trade.
And there you may have it – arguably 5 of one of the best Ok-pop x Gaming collaborations to this point.
Be happy to depart your ideas on them, share any others that didn’t function on the listing, or inform us what collaborations you hope to see sooner or later.
