Video Game Marketers Can Learn A Thing Or Two From Oxenfree II

Marketing, in general, is everywhere nowadays. It has become an eyesore in every form of media, ranging from obnoxious ads to sly product placement designed to psychically manipulate your every move. Despite this constant barrage, at least Night School Studio is making their campaign for Oxenfree II: Lost Signals fun. Over the past year, video game developers at Night School Studio have launched an ever-evolving scavenger hunt as part of the marketing for their follow-up sequel to 2016’s hit game, Oxenfree. This ain’t even their first rodeo either as their history of vague clues and cryptic tweets dates back to the original game itself.

Oxenfree launched in 2016 to raving reviews and a devoted following for its innovative dialogue system. Oxenfree was nominated for many awards, such as Best Narrative and Best Indie Game, and Polygon claims that it is among the decade’s best games. But the story of Oxenfree doesn’t stop when the credits roll. Some keen-eared listeners, with the help of the game’s composer SCNTFC, found that some of the game’s soundtracks contained morse code, which eventually led them to a phone number and Twitter account. The hunt was officially on.

After finding the Twitter account, @xray9169363733, players were soon deciphering cryptic messages from the account, which eventually led them to a former naval fort in Washington. There, internet sleuths unearthed their prize, an old music box, and letters from Oxenfree’s protagonist.

Everyone thought that was the end of it. Oxenfree was one of those games that felt fully visualized when it was released and that the scavenger hunt provided a more than a satisfying epilogue. Yet after nearly five years of dormancy, the Twitter account for @xray9169363733 spontaneously returned and launched us all down into another rabbit hole.

Since its return, @xray9169363733 had users combing through audio recordings, phone numbers, and Wikipedia articles for clues as to what was happening. Little by little, internet sleuths were able to discern letters. It’s clear a sequel was coming, and fans were soon collaborating to figure out the next clue. After deciphering more clues, there was a sudden break in the case with the discovery of the website “Parentage.org.” The website only brought more questions than answers, but we were finally getting somewhere. And then the update happened.

Out of nowhere, Oxenfree got an update. Despite saying that the update was for bug fixes, fans knew better (after all who fixes bugs after five years). Using the in-game radio, players found new transmissions from unknown characters as well as morse code that corroborated the findings on the Parentage website. Since that update, more tweets from @xray9169363733 continued to lead closer to the reveal of the next game. That finally came with the formal announcement of Oxenfree II: Lost Signals on April 14.

Since the reveal, more updates have come to the original Oxenfree game, and keen-eyed listeners realized that these new radio transmissions that were invading the original game stem from the antagonists for the upcoming sequel. As of now, what appears to be the last in-game clues in the first Oxenfree were found, and we sleuths are eagerly awaiting our next clue, one that will hopefully give us a release date for the upcoming sequel. Despite this, the promotional campaign for Oxenfree II: Lost Signals has been nothing less than astounding.

Every game company has something to learn from Night School Studios’ promotional work. Their use of marketing is masterful and inventive. In a world that is chock full of advertisements, it is refreshing to experience something so fresh and fun. This form of advertisement elevates the narrative of the original and is an economical way of introducing the audience to the upcoming antagonists of the sequel. Solemnly have I seen a marketing campaign create intrigue in the way that Oxenfree II has. Especially with video games, there is an untapped market for this form of marketing, and the campaign of Oxenfree II shows how effective it is.

The primary component that separates video games from other mediums of art is this interactive component. For the grand majority of video game marketing, most companies will release a fancy trailer or gameplay demo to entice audiences to purchase their product. In the case of Oxenfree, they present a mystery for audiences to find and overcome. Audiences become attached through the sense of discovery. They intend to see the end result of their quest, typically achieved through purchasing the product.

To all the video game developers and distributors out there, please take note of what Night School studios are doing. They are creating impactful and memorable moments for their audience while your newest CGI-riddled trailer will be forgotten about in months, if not weeks.