Ten people, some in comic-style costumes with painted faces, pose and pull faces indoors beneath a large Borderlands 4 logo
Submitted by YRS TRULY

Borderlands 4 UK Creator Launch Campaign

Influencer Marketing

YRS TRULY ran a three-phase, creator-driven launch campaign for 2K's Borderlands 4 in the UK, which the agency reports generated over 27M+ views in total.

27M+Total Views
375KHours Watched
6.07%Avg. Engagement Rate

About the campaign

For the UK launch of 2K's Borderlands 4, YRS TRULY ran a creator-driven campaign that generated over 27,000,000 views in total. Borderlands 4 is a sequel in an established 2K franchise. The agency set three aims: earning the trust of fans, drawing back lapsed players and marking the launch in gaming culture.

The agency planned ten activations across three phases: preview, pre-launch and launch. Educational content brought players up to date on the series. The campaign collaborated with TommyInnit, CDawgVA and SpiffingBrit, and produced a bespoke interactive Twitch overlay. In-character cosplayers took over London Waterloo station, and a creative team made an animated music video. Hands-on events ran in London, Cologne and Los Angeles.

The agency reports over 27,000,000 views in total and 375,000 hours watched by launch weekend. The campaign produced 465 content pieces, both organic and paid. The average engagement rate was 6.07%.

Case in 60 seconds

As a sequel to a beloved franchise, Borderlands 4 had to win the trust of existing fans while drawing back lapsed and periphery players lost to competition, so its UK launch needed to register as a distinct moment in gaming culture.

Borderlands fans know the series by its creativity and unexpected delight, so a launch that behaves like the game itself earns more of their trust than promotion that only describes it.

YRS TRULY built a multi-stage, creator-driven campaign designed to echo the creativity of Borderlands, with each phase carrying audiences from preview through pre-launch to launch so that attention built toward release.

Ten activations ran across preview, pre-launch and launch, including educational content, collaborations with TommyInnit, CDawgVA and SpiffingBrit, and a bespoke interactive Twitch overlay. In-character cosplayers took over London Waterloo station, a creative team produced an animated music video, and hands-on events ran in London, Cologne and Los Angeles.

YRS TRULY reports over 27,000,000 views in total, 375,000 hours watched by launch weekend and an average engagement rate of 6.07%, across 465 content pieces that combined organic and paid placement.

Strategy Breakdown

Existing Borderlands fans, alongside lapsed and periphery players who had been lost to competition, around the UK launch of Borderlands 4.
2K wanted the launch to stand as a distinct moment in gaming culture, which called for activity spread across creators, streams, a railway station and live events in several cities.
A sequel has to serve its existing fans while competing for players who have moved to other games, so Borderlands 4 needed to reach lapsed and periphery audiences alongside the fanbase.
The campaign was built to carry the creativity and unexpected delight associated with Borderlands into its promotion, so the marketing itself behaved like the franchise it sold.
Lapsed players need reminding of what a series is before they care about its next entry, which is why educational content sat alongside the creator collaborations.

Creative & Execution System

Assets & channels

  • Twitch

Partners

  • YRS TRULY

Participation mechanic

  • A bespoke, interactive Twitch overlay built for Borderlands 4 gave stream viewers a layer of the game to interact with during broadcasts.

Creator role

  • TommyInnit
  • CDawgVA
  • SpiffingBrit

Results & Evidence

MetricValue
Total Views27M+ views
Hours Watched375K hours watched
Avg. Engagement Rate6.07% average ER
Content Pieces465 content pieces

Why YRS TRULY's strategy worked

  1. 1

    Splitting a launch into preview, pre-launch and launch phases gives lapsed players several points of entry, because someone who misses one activation can still meet the game through a later creator collaboration or event.

  2. 2

    Educational content earns its place in a sequel launch when part of the audience has drifted away, because players who have lost track of a series need context before launch excitement can reach them.

  3. 3

    A bespoke interactive Twitch overlay gives streamers a branded tool rather than a script, so the promotion sits inside a broadcast that viewers already chose to watch.

  4. 4

    In-character cosplayers at a London station carry a game launch into public space, which suits a franchise whose appeal rests on unexpected delight and gives the launch a physical presence beyond screens.

Related Case studies