Gamescom, the largest gaming convention in the world, attracts over 300,000 attendees annually. In 2024, 1047 Games brought the highly anticipated Splitgate 2 to the event – following the success of the original Splitgate, released on Steam in 2019 – revealing the game’s new faction-based system, new abilities and weapons, and upgraded gameplay. Competing against some of the biggest gaming brands, including Xbox, PlayStation, Blizzard and Capcom, 1047 Games aimed to generate buzz and anticipation around Splitgate 2, set to release in 2025. Despite Splitgate 2 being a smaller brand, our client’s goals were as bold and ambitious as the characters within the game itself.
The Challenge
1047 Games briefed the need for a design and experiential build that would immerse the attendees in an in-game experience to captivate, create brand awareness, and generate excitement for the game’s future launch. Key challenges included:
- Standing Out on the Show Floor: With limited space compared to larger competitors, the booth needed to be visually striking and instantly draw attention to drive awareness.
- Maximizing Engagement in a Limited Footprint: The booth had to accommodate as many attendees as possible for game demos without ever appearing empty, all while keeping the energy high throughout the event.
- Immersing Attendees in the Splitgate 2 Universe: The design needed to effectively telegraph the new faction system and SSL Sports League, engaging players of all ages with an interactive, storyline-driven experience.
- Showcasing New Content: The booth had to spotlight Splitgate 2’s new cinematic trailer and game demo, generating excitement and buzz for the upcoming release.
- Encouraging User-Generated Content: The space needed to be photo—and video-worthy, encouraging attendees to share their experience on social media and scale engagement through UGC.
- Providing Incentives: To enhance attendee engagement, we faced the challenge of creating compelling rewards that encouraged participation while adhering to budget constraints. Striking a balance between incentivizing interactions and managing costs was essential for fostering memorable connections with the Splitgate brand.
- Creating Press-Worthy Moments: Ensure we offer robust, media-ready moments for the press, influencers, and the PR team to scale coverage across all media channels.
The Solution
FGPG designed a fully captivating and interactive experience that transported attendees directly into the world of Splitgate 2:
- Faction-Based Recruitment Center: Inspired by Splitgate 2’s new faction system, attendees were recruited into one of three factions—Aeros, Meridian, or Sabrask—at activation zones in the front of the 77’ x 77’ booth. Each zone gamified skill challenges, allowing attendees to “Find Their Faction” by testing their agility, strength, or precision. This unique approach brought the game’s mechanics to life in an interactive way that captivated attendees of all ages.
- Engaging and Visually Striking Booth Design: The booth featured a bold, bright design inspired by the game’s arena, standing out amidst competitors’ darker, moodier setups. Overhead branding, dynamic curves, dimensional logos, and in-game “ads” from fictional sponsors all contributed to a visually captivating environment. These elements attracted continuous foot traffic, ensuring the booth remained active and highly visible.
- Custom Content & Interactive Stations: Custom vertical screens next to each activation zone displayed life-sized in-game characters, creating organic photo opportunities and teasing the gameplay experience. The zones also featured in-game scores, leaderboards, and “in-world” advertisements, helping extend the game’s narrative into the real world.
- Skill Challenges:
- Aeros Faction: Attendees competed in an agility challenge, racing to tap lights in a timed event.
- Sabrask Faction: A hang-time challenge tested participants’ strength as they held onto a twisting bar.
- Meridian Faction: Attendees navigated a precision challenge with an electrified bar, requiring steady hands to avoid triggering sound alerts.
- Gaming Arena: The booth’s core was a three-tiered gaming arena with 24 demo stations where attendees could be among the first to play Splitgate 2 in 4v4 matches. Spotlights, music, and a player cam elevated the experience, with each round broadcasted on large overhead LED screens, maintaining energy and excitement.
- Photo Moment & Unique Giveaway: Attendees received personalized Splitgate 2 faction credentials and branded lanyards as part of an interactive photo op. This collectible served as both a memento and a way to deepen engagement by making attendees feel like they had been recruited into the game.
- Seamless Gameplay Introduction: Before entering the gaming arena, a tutorial zone ensured that players were prepared, keeping the action flowing and maximizing the number of participants.
This carefully crafted experience generated continuous engagement and encouraged user-generated content (UGC) by providing photogenic moments and shareable, in-world interactions.
The Results
The Splitgate 2 booth successfully achieved its goals of driving brand awareness, maximizing game demos, and generating organic buzz and PR. The immersive design, activations, and engaging content drew continuous traffic and participation throughout the event.
Key metrics include:
- Total Booth Traffic: Over 40,000 attendees visited the booth across four consumer days and one media day.
- Faction Recruitment Station Engagements:
- Aeros Faction: 9,400+ participants
- Sabrask Faction: 3,700 participants
- Meridian Faction: 4,100 participants
- Game Demos: With 24 gaming stations in the arena, a total of 6,160 game demos were played, reaching full capacity of 1,440 demos per day. Attendees waited up to 30 minutes to play—keeping engagement high without long, frustrating wait times.
- Photo Op Participation: 5,000 attendees received their personalized faction credentials, further integrating them into the Splitgate 2 experience.
- Total Booth Engagement: Including activation participants, photo op attendees, game demos, and general traffic, the booth recorded 78,500+ total engagements.
- Media Impact: Over 20 million global media impressions were generated through press interviews, media coverage, pre- and post-event content, and user-generated content (UGC).