In the context of the health crisis, Tourism Ireland has teamed up with Ubisoft, creator of the world-famous video game Assassin's Creed® Valhallavideo game, which is showcasing its territory in an extension to the game, entitled"Wrath of the Druids". Set in the 9th century, the game immerses players in the Irish landscape, including many real-life locations such as the Giant's Causeway, the Hill of Tara, the summit of Ben Bulben and Dublin City.
In 2021, tourist travel was very limited: it was all about opening a "virtual window" on Ireland to potential visitors.
However, the impact of video games on destination image and travel motivations is now well established [1 ] - video game-induced tourism - just as films and TV series have been influencing visitors for many years. Tourism Ireland, for example, had already created marketing campaigns around Star Wars and Game of Thrones. Destinations are now turning their attention to a market with 3.3 billion gamers, worth $184 billion (Newzoo, 2023) and where some AAA games can cost up to $250 million to produce, rivalling blockbuster films and popular TV series.
[1] See the various research articles on this subject in the "Further reading" and "Innovations" sections.
Keywords: marketing campaign, co-branding, immersive experience, Gen-Z, youth, video games, influencers, experiential marketing, metavers, Millennials, partnership, video game-induced tourism, virtual tourism, Twitch, Ubisoft, Video game-induced tourism, Ireland.
Illustration: Assassin's Creed® Valhalla - 2021 Ubisoft Entertainment ©
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