Game Music Digest | Tiësto Goes Gaming, Play as Post Malone, PlayStation VR Woes
Everything you need to know from the world of video games and music.
Game Music Digest is a weekly wrap-up of the most interesting stories at the intersection of video games and music, brought to you by MusicEXP. Subscribe to keep on top of the latest trends in video games and music delivered straight to your inbox every Monday!
Want more music and gaming news? Subscribe to the music and gaming podcast GXM, which I co-host with Laced community manager, Tom Quillfeldt. Our latest episode features Jessica Ashton from Space Ape Games, who explains how their mobile rhythm games Beatstar and Country Star act as music discovery platforms for 700k daily active users, and how this engagement has generated $150m in just three years.
HoYoverse Teases Collaboration with Tiësto for its Upcoming Game, Zenless Zone Zero
HoYoverse, a Chinese video game developer and publisher, teased a collaboration with Dutch DJ and producer Tiësto for the upcoming launch of its free-to-play action RPG, Zenless Zone Zero. The collaboration was teased in a cryptic video posted on ZZZ’s social channels. HoYoverse’s mobile game portfolio has generated 293.68m downloads and $5.63bn in revenue since Jan 2020 [Sensor Tower], mainly through in-game purchases in the free-to-play RPGs Genshin Impact and Honkai Star Rail.
EXP: Free-to-play mobile games use collaborations with well-known bands and artists as part of user-acquisition campaigns (See also: PUBG x NewJeans, Brawl Stars x DragonForce & Cookie Run Kingdom x BTS). HoYoverse’s games are most popular with East Asian players (60% of Genshin Impact’s revenue comes from China and Japan) so while this Tiësto collaboration might seem unusual, it’s actually a clever way for HoYoverse to get the game in front of Western audiences and make the IP more appealing. That seems to have worked given the volume of write-ups about this collaboration!
Austin Wintory’s ‘Journey’ Soundtrack Gets an Interactive Live Performance in New York
If you live in New York, please don’t miss this. The Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) is teaming up with video game composer Austin Wintory, the American Composers Orchestra and executive producer Ode to Joy to present an “original, interactive live performance of the Grammy-nominated score of Journey.” Performances take place on 6 and 7 December with general tickets going live June 27 from the link above.
EXP: Video game concerts often display video game footage on a massive screen behind the orchestra, which heightens emotion and contextualizes certain aspects of the music. What’s less common is a production such as this, where the orchestra responds to the actions of video game players in real time on stage. If you haven’t played Journey (please do!), it can be completed in around two hours, making it perfect for an experience like this. In my opinion, video games (and music!) are best enjoyed in social experiences with others, so I’d love to see more stuff like this. (Kinda related: check out these playthroughs of Mario Kart with a live jazz band).
2K Sports Reveals First Look at Post Malone as Playable Character in WWE 2K24
2K Sports shared the first image of Post Malone as a playable character in their upcoming wrestling game, WWE 2K24. The game is already out, but players can purchase The Post Malone & Friends Pack DLC for $9.99 when it releases on 26 June to jump into the ring as the rap (turned country?!) star. Post also served as executive producer on the game’s soundtrack, a role previously filled by John Cena in 2023 and Machine Gun Kelly in 2022.
EXP: This collaboration reminds me of the golden days of music and gaming collaborations back in the PS2/Xbox/Gamecube era when rappers such as Wu-Tang, 50 Cent, and Snoop Dogg would regularly lend their likenesses to video games or appear in video games of their own! So, the ‘play as Post’ is the least interesting part of this collaboration for me. I’m more impressed by 2K’s tactic of tying him (and MGK) as executive producers to their game soundtracks to drum up coverage in music publications. This collaboration is a great match either way, with MIDiA research showing “94% of fighting games fans are aware of Post Malone, compared to 74% of the all-consumer average.”
VOD Tickets for the Persona Live Tour 2024 Virtual Concert are Still Available if you Live in Asia (or have a VPN)
Persona is one of the largest RPG franchises in the world and is widely celebrated for its music, ranging from eclectic acid jazz and fusion tracks to J-rock and heavy metal. A live concert tour kicked off earlier this year for fans in Asia, but the concert can still be watched on demand if you live in Asia (or presumably outside of Asia with a VPN and the right know-how).
EXP: Video footage from video game concert tours in Asia is often locked due to licensing restrictions, but where possible, game studios should make these productions global so they have an evergreen asset for their music that can be monetised.
Sony Cuts Investment in VR Development for PSVR2
A new report from Android Central claims Sony is making deep cuts to funding for VR games, and there are only two first-party VR games currently in development for its PSVR2 headset. Per Android Central: “Last year, Sony released just three PSVR 2 games and has yet to officially announce even one first-party game coming out for the system in 2024.” The headset has an RRP of £529 (!!!!!!!) and Sony has reportedly paused production and not provided an update on sales figures.
EXP: You can’t sell hardware without good software and PSVR2 doesn’t have enough of it outside the obvious choices like Resident Evil 4 Remake VR, Horizon: Call of the Mountain and C-Smash VRS. In the absence of a quality software line-up, exclusive access to VR concerts for Sony artists could have been another selling point for the headset, but Sony/PlayStation has no virtual concert app, despite the success of Meta’s Music Valley concert events in its Horizon Worlds experience, which have seen performances from Blackpink and Kid LAROI. The lack of VR concert support for PSVR2 baffles me, especially when a growing number of start-ups like AmazeVR are launching VR concert apps. If Sony/PlayStation can’t build something in-house, why couldn't they identify a VR concert partner to work with them exclusively on Sony music concerts? Answers on a postcard!
Songtradr Names Alex Rigopulos and Priyanka Khimani to Board of Directors
Songtradr, the largest music licensing platform in the world, has welcomed music lawyer Priyanka Khimani and Harmonix co-founder Alex Rigopulos to its board of directors. Harmonix was acquired by Fortnite creator Epic Games in 2021 but is best known for developing the rhythm games Guitar Hero and Rock Band.
EXP: Worth noting that Songtradr acquired Bandcamp from Epic Games in 2023, so I wouldn’t be surprised if the addition of Rigopulos to Songtradr’s board of directors is part of the licensing platform exploring potential matchmaking opportunities for Bandcamp in the video game space. Imagine if game studios could integrate Bandcamp within their video games? Wouldn’t that take the stress out of sync for smaller studios!
Krafton and ADOR Issue Joint Statement Following After NewJeans X PUBG Collaboration
PUBG Publisher Krafton and HYBE subsidiary ADOR have issued a joint statement warning PUBG players that any inappropriate content they create featuring NewJeans characters could result in a ban. This follows an in-game collaboration between PUBG and the K-pop group that added NewJeans members into the game as playable characters, but some players have been dressing the characters in certain ways and putting them in compromising positions.
EXP: Honestly, what do you expect? Most in-game events integrate the IP into cosmetic items such as weapon skins, rather than character skins. And when character skins are implemented into video games, there are usually very strict conditions on how those skins can be used. While I can’t praise this collaboration enough for its general execution, it’s clear that the licensor and game studio haven’t given enough thought to potential IP exploitation by weird gamers. This YouTube video calling the collaboration a chaotic mess hits the nail on the head.