In an unprecedented, first-of-its-kind move, India’s prominent talent management, event management company and content production house, Only Much Louder – OML Entertainment, has created three short films for South Korean video game developer, Krafton’s PUBG: NEW STATE – thereby giving the online battle royale video game its own dedicated short-film series. Titled PUBG: New State Chronicles, the three short films have been conceptualised by OML’s vertical – Global Creator Network (GCN).
‘New State Chronicles’ brings together a multifaceted star cast from the country’s wide influencer and creator circuit – like The Great Khali, Rannvijay Singha, Kaneez Surka, Tanmay Bhat, MortaL, Sc0ut (Tanmay Singh), Zakir Khan, Awez Darbar, Meethika Dwivedi, Rohan Joshi, Kubbra Sait, Raftaar and Mr Faisu – in the three short films. With stories spun around its gameplay, OML’s team has utilised the Unreal Engine to closely recreate the futuristic world of PUBG: NEW STATE and its map – TROI. Through actors pitted in situations reflecting this gaming world, the three films – independent of each other – provide an immersive experience that demonstrates new features of the game in addition to the fundamental tips and tricks required to play it. The cast is split into teams across each film that takes place in key locations of Exhibit Hall, The Mall and Lab on the TROI map, emphasising distinct aspects of the video game.
The first film – Exhibit Hall featuring Tanmay Bhat, Kaneez Surka, Rannvijay Singha, MortaL and Khali can be viewed here:
The second film – The Mall featuring Meethika, Sc0ut, Zakir, Awez and Khali can be viewed here:
The third film – Lab featuring Faisu, Kubbra Sait, Rohan Joshi, Raftaar and Khali can be viewed here:
OML CEO and board member Gunjan Arya said, “Our prime effort was to build a recurring value for the gaming audience and help distinctly differentiate PUBG: NEW STATE from other battle royale (BR) games in the video-gaming landscape. With this in mind, we created ‘New State Chronicles’ that is a perfect balance of pure gameplay as well as peripheral content to gaming as it utilises trending topics and the game’s features to keep the content relevant, relatable, engaging and immersive. Additionally, plugging the video game’s messaging through Bollywood actors, rappers, comedians, dancers, choreographers, and popular influencers will also support the visibility and the pop culture quotient of PUBG: NEW STATE outside the conventional gaming ecosystem to a broader audience.”
Earlier, Krafton had announced the launch of a string of exclusive content and exciting collaborations for PUBG: NEW STATE in India. The company had teamed up with Raftaar for an exclusive PUBG: NEW STATE rap anthem, whose lyrics and music video visuals pay tribute to the iconic PUBG BR video game format and its gamers. Additionally, it also collaborated with Sony Music India to bring its latest chartbuster, Badhshah’s (featuring Nikhita Gandhi) Bad Boy x Bad Girl, to the PUBG: NEW STATE world. Apart from that, Krafton has also unveiled a dance challenge alongside partnering with several Indian influencers and content creators such as Viraj Ghelani, Focused Indian, Bhuvan Bam, the Comedy Factory and many others.
The overall campaign includes a network of 70+ creators, garnering 111M views and counting, 17M engagement and counting organically – with the promise of a significant increase in these numbers as the campaign proceeds further. While OML’s content for the campaign has driven 1M+ UTR clicks towards pre-registration and downloads, the game has seen a total of 10M+ pre-registrations and a total of 10M+ downloads in India.
By roping in and leveraging the power of millennial celebrities and influencers in the country, Krafton is creating a turbocharged, robust and well-built mechanism to hype the video game in a booming smartphone market like India.