In the mid-1990s David Bowie met with a French video game developer to discuss making a game in which he and his wife would star. The game, The Nomad Soul, was released in 1999, the same year Bowie was interviewed by BBC Newsnight’s Jeremy Paxman, where he famously predicted the internet would have unimaginable implications on future life as we know it. The game, unlike Bowie’s music, wasn’t met with blanket critical acclaim, but for him that wasn’t the point. The point was the potential. A brave new world, a new platform, a new way of communicating with people. He saw its worth from its conception.
Fast forward 25 years to 2024, where multi-million-selling global music icon Billie Eilish recently used the Fortnite video game world to help promote her brand-new album, by appearing as a skin and emote during the album’s promo window. This meant millions of consumers as young as 12 years old could hear Eilish’s music in-game — just like they would’ve on the radio back in the day.
Now more than ever, celebrities and brands are waking up to the powerful audience reach that video games can offer
And the reach is oh so powerful. According to a new report from Newzoo, 96% of Gen Alpha engage with video games in some way. Perhaps a fact that’s not completely surprising — when you think of video games, you often think of younger players. But the report looks at every generation since 1945 and also concludes that 72% of Gen X engage with video games. Baby Boomers, unsurprisingly, are the lowest demographic in the report, but 53% of this generation still engage in gaming in some way.
Video games offer a proven and prominent media platform in their own right and, at a time when audience reach is diluted across so many other competing media platforms, brands and celebrities are utilising the enormous reach opportunity that games can offer.
Whereas a 1980s pop star might’ve achieved mainstream recognition by appearing on the cover of Smash Hits, new mainstream recognition of a celebrity’s status is often pixel-formed. In addition to Billie Eilish, the likes of Lady Gaga, Ed Sheeran, The Weeknd, Ariana Grande, Snoop Dog, Eminem, Katy Perry and Nicki Minaj are just some of the music artists to grace gamers’ screens recently. But the fame game isn’t just limited to the music industry, as games continue to attract Hollywood talent looking to push the boundaries of their craft and celebrity status. Where movie stars could once only grace the silver screen, they are now virtual entities on PCs and games consoles globally.
One star who recently took centre stage in-game is Nicolas Cage, who can be seen playing himself in a recent chapter of horror game Dead by Daylight. The announcement of his involvement caused a ripple across entertainment media globally, giving the game and the star a new injection of fans.
Commenting during the announcement on stage at Summer Game Fest in LA, Cage mentioned: ‘Dead by Daylight to me was an opportunity to branch out. I’ve never been invited into this space before. I’m always looking for new adventures so this to me was like, wow, I can meet a whole new audience and go on this adventure. It took me nothing but a split second to say yes.’
Other Hollywood celebrities signing up to gaming’s hall of fame include Keanu Reeves, Timothée Chalamet, Idris Elba, Chris Pratt, Austin Butler and Jean-Claude Van Damme, to name a few.
The world of sports stars has long enjoyed a relationship with the games industry, but even recent in-game collaborations have seen sports celebrities switching in-game sports arenas for more alternative roles, such as Manchester City’s Erling Haaland, who was recently announced as a new playable Barbarian King character in Clash of Clans.
We also have to mention the YouTube and social media influencers who were made famous off the back of creating video game-related content and commentary, who have gone on to see their fame cemented as playable characters in the very video games they first championed. Video games not only collaborate with celebrities, they help make celebrities too.
The fame game, or game fame as perhaps it should be called, has finally come of age. Many have dabbled over the years — with varying degrees of success — but this coming of age has opened doors for brands and celebrities hoping to seek out new mass consumer audiences via the power of pixels. And let’s face it, who wouldn’t want to be immortalised in video game form.
Featured image: The Nomad Soul – David Bowie’s only video game role
