Ubisoft Canada is inviting gamers into London’s underworld with the launch of its new Assassin’s Creed: London Gangs app.
Designed by Bleublancrouge, the free app is part of an integrated campaign for the latest addition to the game’s franchise — Assassin’s Creed Syndicate — due out October 23. The app was released Thursday on both the Apple App Store and the Google Play store, and is available exclusively to Canadians.
In the game, users look for hidden postal codes in order to unlock districts of London and free the city from its corrupt ruling class, the Templar elite. While the app functions as a game, it’s entirely free – unlike many mobile games, there are no transactions, said Lucile Bousquet, senior director of marketing at Ubisoft Canada.
The app is designed to introduce consumers to the world of Assassin’s Creed Syndicate ahead of its release. Each Assassin’s Creed game has a new setting, from Colonial America to Renaissance Italy, and Ubisoft has focused much of its Canadian marketing for the franchise on embedding fans into each new world. Last year, for example, the company held a French Revolution themed party for the launch of Assassin’s Creed Unity, complete with portraits of Louis XIV and a guillotine.
London Gangs and its full-scale counterpart, Syndicate, share London’s Industrial Revolution as a setting as well as themes like corruption and exploitation. “We wanted to help people discover London during the industrial revolution,” Bousquet said of the app. “We also wanted to provide an emotional engagement – that’s really important for us.”
In the app, users form gangs with friends and work together to free districts, a form of gameplay Ubisoft is hoping will foster a sense of community around the Assassin’s Creed brand. (There’s also swag on the line: Ubisoft is giving away prizes including Playstation 4 consoles to gangs that do well in the game.)
“It’s very important for us [consumers] understand that Assassin’s not only a video game, but also a community and a universe you can take part of,” Bousquet said.
Increasingly, Ubisoft is positioning Assassin’s Creed as a universe rather than just a series of games. There’s a movie in the works for 2016 starring Michael Fassbender and a line of retail-ready menswear inspired by the game.
The brand extensions and large marketing spend come on the heels of massive commercial success for the brand. Since the release of the first Assassin’s Creed title in 2007, the franchise has moved over 95 million units worldwide.
In Canada, Bousquet said Assassin’s Creed is a top priority for Ubisoft. The company has been slowly introducing the game via trailers and sneak peeks for months and scheduled the app’s launch a full month ahead of the game’s release. (London Gangs will be live for an additional two weeks after the game’s launch, with a possible extension based on its popularity.)
Two weeks before the game’s release, phase two of the campaign will kick into high gear with TV ads, digital video, display ads and PR. Fitting the company’s young, tech-savvy target, 70% of the spend will be digital and there will be a continued focus on mobile, which Bousquet said is the first screen for gamers.
In addition to campaign creative, the company has given fans the chance to demo before its release during live activations at events like Fan Expo Canada. Ubisoft Canada is also planning an experiential follow-up to last year’s release party, but details are still under wraps.
Assassin’s Creed: London Gangs is the second major app release Ubisoft Canada has created as a marketing tool. In late 2013, the company launched a mobile game to promote Watch Dogs, which was paired with a series of ambitious stunts and went on to win gold at the Marketing Awards.
