Influencer marketing | Campaign strategy | Talent management
How Viral Nation created global hype for Resident Evil 4 VR on Meta Quest 2
When Meta Quest (formerly Facebook Oculus) launched Resident Evil 4 VR on Meta Quest 2, the gaming world was reintroduced to an all-time classic with an entirely new way of experiencing the Resident Evil franchise.
Here’s how Viral Nation got the gaming world hyped for the VR launch of one of the most beloved games of all time with an award-winning campaign that generated millions of brand interactions for Quest 2’s first-ever AAA release.
Best Social Campaign
Meta Quest 2’s creator campaign received top honors at the 2022 AVA Digital Awards—an international competition that recognizes excellence by creative professionals in the field of digital communication.
About Meta Quest 2
Meta Quest 2 is an all-in-one VR headset produced by Reality Labs, a subsidiary of Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook Inc.). With Meta Quest 2, you can sit front row at a live concert, burn calories atop a glacier, hang out with friends all over the world, work, watch a movie, and yes—play amazing games for hours on end.
Immersive experience
Of the nine games in Resident Evil’s core series, Resident Evil 4 ranks as an all-time fan favorite and one of the most iconic horror games of all time. So when the team at Meta Quest announced that a VR version of Resident Evil 4 was in the works, two things were certain. First: anticipation for the re-release of Resident Evil 4 would be huge. And second: this game would be the first VR experience for many people.
Meta Quest tapped Viral Nation to drive VR awareness and turn excitement into engagement in the lead-up to the game’s official launch.
Immersive campaign
Sixteen years after the original release of Resident Evil 4, fans were ready to experience their favorite game in a new way.
Viral Nation sourced and onboarded major creators and publishers across Twitch, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok to immerse audiences in the characters, the lore, and the countless moments and memes that made the franchise popular.
With early access to the game and loads of creative freedom, creators leveraged Resident Evil 4 content in refreshingly original ways. A media embargo was also lifted for content creators a day before launch, helping them captivate fans with their early takes on the new experience.
Influencers and social publishers featured livestreams, interactive stories and reels, and gameplay compilations that ranged from hilarious to nail-biting—including one viral video that netted over 2.6M views on a TikTok post alone.
Cosplayers recreated game characters with incredibly lifelike results. Creators outside of the gameplay format produced real-life challenges and game analyses. And Meta Quest’s team drove positive audience sentiment by commenting on, sharing, and reposting on influencer and publisher content for the entirety of the campaign.
Viral Nation furthered campaign reach with a strategic gifting campaign. Twenty-five celebrities, artists, influencers, and gamers who were affiliated with—or major fans of—the franchise received a Meta Quest 2, and, in some cases, launch-day access to Resident Evil 4 VR.
Virtual reality. Real results.
Leveraging 73 creators across key verticals – including two of the top 1% of Twitch streamers – achieved massive reach, excitement, and impact for Quest 2’s release. An array of entertaining, high-caliber content and viral results harnessed and built upon excitement in the gaming world, making Resident Evil 4 VR one of the most hotly-anticipated virtual reality releases of the year.