Techland's incredibly expensive Dying Light collector's edition: a successful PR stunt.
Image: insider-gaming.com
Prior to the release of Dying Light, developer Techland launched a remarkably pricey collector's edition. Surprisingly, and to their delight, no one purchased it. This, however, was precisely the intended outcome.
According to Techland's PR manager, Paulina Dziedziak, the £250,000 (approximately $386,000 USD) My Apocalypse Edition was purely a publicity maneuver. Its extravagant nature was designed to generate significant media attention and hype surrounding the game's launch – a strategy that proved highly effective.
The contents of this extravagant package were indeed impressive: inclusion of the buyer's likeness within the game, a life-sized statue of the protagonist "Jump," professional parkour training, night-vision goggles, an all-expenses-paid trip to Techland's headquarters, four autographed game copies, a Razer headset, and a custom zombie-proof survival shelter constructed by Tiger Log Cabins.
Techland's strategic use of the My Apocalypse Edition as a marketing tool raises a compelling question: would they have fulfilled the order had someone actually purchased it? The hypothetical scenario of constructing and delivering a real-life bunker remains unanswered.