When Eek Games first approached us about its viral sensation House Party, the title was negatively perceived by the games media. Our mission was to change that view as we communicated the game’s exit from early access.
Overview
Beginning in 2020, American developer and publisher Eek Games approached Big Games Machine to assist with its viral sensation House Party. This long-term project involved campaigns with celebrity influencers Game Grumps and music superstar Doja Cat during the journey from Early Access updates to full launch in 2022.
This was a particularly challenging project due to the existing negative sentiment towards the game held by the media at the time (described by Rock Paper Shotgun as ‘truly dreadful’ back in 2017), which we were aiming to change and use in our favour.
By providing input on messaging and strategy and carefully drafting multiple press announcements, we worked to shift the conversation to a more positive tone and secure results in major media outlets, including PC Gamer and NME.
Project: House Party
Client: Eek Games
Platform: PC
What We Did: Provided strategic input and messaging for House Party and PR support with multiple updates and announcements to deliver substantial coverage.
What we did
- Planned and executed multiple campaigns at critical stages during the House Party timeline, including the full launch.
- We emphasised throughout our outreach how the gameplay had evolved in line with previous feedback while working to address various misconceptions.
- Successfully got the game into the hands of influencers against the challenges of the game’s Twitch ban and age restrictions on YouTube due to its mature content.
- Working with the developers, we approached it with a ‘Don’t play/stream House Party’ as tagging the game would get creators banned, instead encouraging them to play off-screen and react to what was happening.
The Results
- Secured over 80 pieces of positive coverage by communicating key phases of updates, launch, and DLC to top publications such as PC Gamer, NME, and IGN.
- Boosted the game’s profile among media and influencers while telling a story about the evolution of the game’s development.
