SINGAPORE – If there is one thing celebrities understand, it is star power.
Gaming franchises are huge, which is why more stars are levelling up by collaborating with the popular names through their music, acting, endorsements or likenesses.
Here are 10 high-profile celebrity tie-ups in the gaming universe.
1. Ed Sheeran and Pokemon
Pokemon is one of the most profitable media franchises of all time, so it is only fitting that Japanese firm The Pokemon Company hooked up with one of the world’s biggest pop stars.
British singer Ed Sheeran’s newest single Celestial, released in September 2022, appears in two new video games – Pokemon Scarlet and Pokemon Violet.
It was a dream gig for Sheeran, 31, who has been a big Pokemon fan since he was a kid. The song’s music video sees him interacting with various Pokemon characters such as Pikachu and even has animation based on his childhood Pokemon doodles.
2. Imagine Dragons and League Of Legends
American pop-rock band Imagine Dragons’ last big hit, Enemy, is connected to a popular video game.
A collaboration with American rapper JID, the 2021 song is from the soundtrack of the animated Netflix series Arcane (2021 to present), which features characters set in the fictional universe of multiplayer online battle arena game League Of Legends.
The track peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard charts and was a Top 10 hit in Singapore.
It was not the quartet’s first time working with Riot Games, the company behind League Of Legends.
Avid gamers themselves, they wrote and recorded a song, Warriors, for the League Of Legends 2014 World Championship and performed it at the event in Seoul.
3. Blackpink and PUBG
When K-pop megastars Blackpink staged a virtual concert hosted by massively popular mobile game PUBG (which stands for PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds) in July 2022, it drew a whopping 15.7 million viewers worldwide over two weekends.
The performance, which featured the girls in avatar form, ended up winning the Best Metaverse Performance prize at the MTV Video Music Awards.
Just before the concert, the four-member group released a song and music video – Blackpink X PUBG Mobile – ‘Ready For Love’ M/V – which also features CGI versions of them dancing in the PUBG Mobile world.
The collaboration started in 2021, when the game released Blackpink-themed items for players, such as hair, clothes and weapons.
4. Ariana Grande, Travis Scott, Marshmello and more with Fortnite
When American electronic dance music star Marshmello staged a virtual deejay set in online video game Fortnite in February 2019, it paved the way for a slew of pop star metaverse gigs in the game’s online world.
American rapper Travis Scott’s April 2020 performance drew nearly 28 million viewers, one of the biggest concert audiences in the metaverse.
In August 2021, pop star Ariana Grande staged a Fortnite event with games and interactive features centred on her avatar.
Fortnite has plenty of other celebrity tie-ups. You can adopt skins or avatars based on real-life famous personalities ranging from Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson to Paul Atreides, actor Timothee Chalamet’s character from science-fiction blockbuster Dune (2021).
5. Mariah Carey and Roblox
American pop diva Mariah Carey could very well have won new fans when she recently staged a virtual Mariah Carey’s Winter Wonderland concert on Roblox, the online platform popular with young gamers.
The 53-year-old also designed a treasure hunt with her 11-year-old twins, Monroe and Moroccan.
Never mind that she lost her bid to trademark the name “Queen of Christmas” – her virtual gig in December led to Roblox’s Twitter account declaring her “Queen Of Roblox”.
She is not the only veteran star to have made a presence on Roblox. In November 2022, Elton John, 75, launched Elton John Presents: Beyond The Yellow Brick Road, where fans can play games based on his life and music and, more importantly, dress up their avatar in some of the iconic outfits the British singer has donned over the decades.
Roblox has staged many virtual shows by contemporary pop acts such as American singer Lil Nas X and British singer Charli XCX. K-pop boy band NCT 127 are also set to perform on the platform from Jan 28 to 30.
6. Chris Pratt and The Super Mario Bros Movie
American actor Chris Pratt, 43, is the latest star to helm a video game film adaptation, though his lead role in the upcoming The Super Mario Bros Movie has attracted controversy.
When the trailer for the animated flick dropped in October 2022, there was a huge outcry from Super Mario fans who were upset that the Marvel Cinematic Universe actor’s voice acting sounded vastly different from the 38-year-old gaming franchise’s main character.
Still, observers have noted that the criticisms are unlikely to dent the film’s box-office takings when it opens in April, given how the popular Italian plumber Mario and his gang have grown up with different generations of video game players.
7. Pedro Pascal and The Last Of Us
Chilean-American actor Pedro Pascal is having a moment. His roles in television shows such as Game Of Thrones (2011 to 2019) and Star Wars spin-off The Mandalorian (2019 to present) endeared him to both fans and critics.
His winning streak is set to continue with his portrayal of the lead character in The Last Of Us, the HBO adaptation of the acclaimed video game based in a post-apocalyptic world overrun by a parasitic fungal infection. The series premiered earlier in January.
Pascal’s portrayal of outbreak survivor Joel Miller has earned praise for being true to the source material.
Observers have also pointed out that the shows which the 47-year-old has significant roles in have all had outstanding ratings on Rotten Tomatoes – 97 per cent for The Last Of Us and 93 per cent for The Mandalorian. The fourth season of Game Of Thrones, in which he appeared, was the highest rated in the series at 97 per cent.
8. Jay Chou and League Of Legends
It is quite well known that Mandopop star Jay Chou is an avid League Of Legends fan. He once played the game for four days in a row without leaving home.
And the Taiwanese singer is pretty good at it too. In November, he proudly posted on social media that he has attained the high rank of Master in Wild Rift, a modified version of League Of Legends.
He owns J Team, a professional Taiwanese e-sports team that takes part in League Of Legends competitions.
The 44-year-old’s hit 2016 song, Hero, was inspired by the game, and he performed at the 2017 League Of Legends World Championship Finals in Beijing’s National Stadium.
Riot Games, the company behind League Of Legends, featured Chou’s 2007 song, Blue And White Porcelain, in the gameplay.
9. JJ Lin with Dota 2, Valorant and more
Another Mandopop star who is big on gaming is Singaporean JJ Lin.
In 2017, he created Taiwan-based e-sports organisation Team SMG (Still Moving Under Gunfire), which has grown over the years and now includes an all-Singaporean team, an all-Malaysian one and a Shanghai-based team.
The teams take part in competitions in popular games Dota 2, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, Valorant and PUBG.
In 2016, Lin, 41, created the first music pack for Dota 2, Timekeeper, and performed it at Shanghai Major, a Dota 2 tournament in Shanghai.
A member of the executive committee of the Singapore Esports Association, Lin said in a 2021 interview with The Straits Times that he wants Singapore to become a global e-sports hub.
“E-sports in itself is a universal language, and I am sure that with more support, we will be able to take a more significant position on the global map.“
10. Kim Kardashian – Kim Kardashian: Hollywood
Reality TV star Kim Kardashian’s mobile gaming app, Kim Kardashian: Hollywood, was an instant success after it launched in 2014.
A collaboration between the 42-year-old and American mobile gaming studio Glu Mobile, the app was among the top five games in the Apple app store within a month of its release.
The object of the game pretty much mirrors the Kardashian’s life – players aim to become A-list celebrities and try to gain fans by taking on modelling jobs, making appearances at clubs and even going on dates.
She is not the only star to have an app game by Glu Mobile. The company has also worked with celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay to create Restaurant Dash With Gordon Ramsay.
