With QR codes being intensively used in various industries to modernize their marketing and operations means, the gaming industry’s use of it is now revolutionizing their gameplay and marketing means.
As the gaming industry is now revolutionizing their users’ gameplay experience with modern technology and more, their integration with QR codes brings relevance for gamers to use them in real-life and practice their scanning abilities in-game.
Now that many established gaming companies are now enforcing the use of the point and scan approach in both gameplay and marketing sequences, the popularity of QR codes among gamers started and became a centralized gaming community meme during the COVID-19 pandemic surge, the rickroll QR code, where Rick Astley’s song plays after a gamer scans them.
And with its popularity, various gaming developers took this initiative to add fun and excitement to their users and encourage them to try integrating this new smartphone habit in real life.
To learn more about how these gaming companies manage to insert these smartphone-readable barcodes in their gameplay and marketing strategy, here are the following QR code ideas that they visibly add in specific parts and versions of their games.
QR code use cases found in your favorite games online and offline
Here is a list of QR code use cases that you can see from a few of your favorite offline and online games throughout the years.
1. QR codes leading to the actual short game
As QR codes started their first public marketing release in the early 2010s, many businesses and marketing agencies had then plotted various ways to quickly introduce their customers to a new way to make their product interaction look immersive and futuristic.
Since QR codes are now primarily integrated into the marketing department of business platforms to lead scanners to their online business and social media platforms, gaming companies are now incorporating QR codes in their interactive marketing promotions and allowing them to experience the game with short gameplay.
2. Game item gateway
With many role-playing games intuitively giving their players a new set of items to go and collect throughout their gaming journey, it’s no secret that many gaming companies are looking for a tech tool to integrate to hide these Easter items for players to obtain and equip in their products and services.
And through their search, various idle role-playing games like Animal Crossing are now integrating the use of QR codes to store specially crafted game items for players to collect and unlock by scanning the QR code other gamers create for their fellow players.
Aside from role-playing games, adventure games like Pokémon Go, and more also integrate the use of QR codes as an easy alternative for adventurers to catch the Pokémon they need without exerting more effort to catch them in the other parts of the world.
3. Gameplay mission tasks
Aside from storing gameplay items for players to catch, scan and collect, other gaming companies integrate the use of QR codes as part of their in-game mission task and hone the players’ consciousness of how to scan a QR code while gaming.
As proof of the QR code usage in gameplay mission tasks, role-playing games like Hitman-3 include these codes in one of the party scenes where the player must scan seven QR codes to complete a task and proceed to another chapter of the game.
4. Portal for game merchandise homepage
As a way to encourage more players to buy the game merchandise they are selling and incentivize them with a game that will keep them busy for a few levels, famous video game company Rovio is now integrating a new way for their famous game Angry Birds merch to be sold rapidly and encourage people to visit them to play by scanning the QR codes posted in their partner stores.
With every item purchased by fans, a new power-up is given to them with their QR code included package called Bird codes. With these means of boosting their merchandise and game downloads, Rovio balanced out their revenues in both merch and games.
Similar to the tactics used by Rovio, Cyberpunk 2077 partnered with Xbox to tease their fans and players an unlisted Youtube music that they can scan on the QR code placed behind their collaborated Xbox controller.
This QR code integration tactic increased Xbox’s Cyberpunk console sales and helped them make an excellent game collectible for enthusiastic gamers out there.
5. Immersive In-game promotions
As most gaming companies are developing more than two most loved games that millions use worldwide, promoting these games with each other is intensively normal with a carefully crafted gameplay input.
Since promoting one game to another can be challenging for most gaming companies nowadays, inserting a narrative into one existing match is not enough to intrigue users to watch out for it.
With QR codes being applied by many established gaming companies, savvy gaming marketers instruct their developers to add a QR code in the gameplay simulation and let players be curious about what the code has in store.
The use of these codes in-game promotions is now introduced and adopted by some of your favorite online games like Far Cry 6, where QR codes are scattered everywhere and give users a gist of a possible new game to be released with every code scanned.
QR codes and Gaming–Beating the odds with simplified Gamification strategies
As Statista scale that the gaming industry’s worth is at 65.91 billion dollars in 2021, the pivot towards using technology and taking advantage of the increased usage of QR codes between people has paid off and continues to grow.
And due to the gaming industry’s boost in letting more people start using QR codes and interact with them in any means, more gaming companies are intensively utilizing these codes in their gameplay and marketing strategies throughout the transition of their game development and release.
Since then, many gaming companies are now thinking of new ways to simplify their marketing strategies with QR codes and gamify them for the current and future generation to enjoy their gaming experience.
Conclusion:
Now that more people can’t get enough with scanning QR codes through their smartphones, we have the gaming industry to thank for helping marketers and businesses encourage them to scan these codes.
As the future with QR codes is visible with the COVID-19 pandemic surge and the availability of a QR code generator online, the intensive use of it enables more industries to gamify their marketing means and extend it to their target audience offline and online.
