A successful advergame example: the Balenciaga video game
A concrete example of an advergame? Balenciaga’s.
The Spanish-French brand launches its new streetwear collection… in a video game. To present the line dedicated to BFRND, music producer and partner of former creative director Demna Gvasalia, Balenciaga chose an innovative format: an online video game accessible to everyone.
A brand awareness initiative that leverages advergame dynamics to connect the audience with the brand’s world, engaging them in an immersive way.
Since 2017, BFRND has created the soundtracks for Balenciaga events: a powerful blend of genres, with cinematic atmospheres that reflect the maison’s visual and sonic identity. Bringing all of this into a video game means creating an interactive experience that merges fashion, music, and technology, turning the launch of a collection into an opportunity for active engagement.
BFRND: The Game — From collection to interactive experience
Context and multi-channel strategy
The Balenciaga Music | BFRND project is a 360° campaign that includes a four-hour playlist created by BFRND, limited-edition merchandise with an NFC chip, and an original 8-bit style video game developed by Code This Lab’s team.
The goal is to recreate the brand’s visual and sonic universe, making fashion a compelling and dynamic experience.
Our gameplay
The game, BFRND: The Game, features 4 levels:
Three standard levels, available for free via microsite, WeChat, or touchscreen at Balenciaga boutiques in Paris and Shanghai.
A fourth bonus level, unlockable only through the NFC chips embedded in the official merchandise (T-shirt or hoodie), which act as an “all-access pass”.
Game structure
The player controls a pixel-art avatar of BFRND. Each level is set in iconic Balenciaga runway-show scenarios (Winter 2021, Winter 2022, Spring 2024, Summer 2024), each paired with the soundtrack produced for that event.
Main objectives:
Collect Balenciaga garments and items along the route.
Avoid obstacles or unsettling creatures that force detours or cause penalties.
Rack up points in an arcade dynamic that rewards familiarity with the brand’s aesthetics.
The campaign also included a global contest: the top 30 players received exclusive prizes.
Key takeaways for the marketing strategy
1. Tangible, playful brand immersion
The game delivers an immersive experience within the runway-show sets, blending music, aesthetics, and brand narrative. Without banners or intrusive content.
2. Integrated physical-digital exclusivity
Using NFC in the merchandise as an engagement tool turns physical goods into digital passes, fuels the sense of ownership, and encourages purchase.
3. Virality and social gamification
The game’s arcade, competitive-social nature supports organic spread across communities and fans (contests, leaderboards, sharing).
4. An experience consistent with the brand’s positioning
Retro pixel art, a dark/goth vibe, dramatic soundtracks: every aspect of the game reflects Balenciaga and BFRND’s visual and cultural identity.
BFRND: The Game shows how a video game can become a strategic communication tool when it successfully merges design, storytelling, and marketing objectives. In this project, every pixel has a meaning, every level a story, every sound a connection with the brand.
We were proud to develop the Balenciaga video game dedicated to BFRND — a project that immersed us in an extraordinary creative world. It was a unique experience: stimulating and fun at the same time; each level became an opportunity to blend aesthetics, music, and storytelling into an interactive format.
Working alongside an iconic brand like Balenciaga allowed us to push beyond the usual boundaries and explore new frontiers of advergaming, integrating physical elements (NFC), real scenarios, and artistic content into a single interactive platform.
Over our 15 years as advergame creators, we’ve learned that to generate true engagement, a video game must do much more than entertain: it must move, involve, and surprise. It must speak to the brand’s audience, and with the brand.
