Far Cry 4 is a video game set in the fictional Himalayan country of Kyrat. This is one of the most unique settings for a video game, so our PR team created an event that would show off the environment that inspired our game developers. The initiative was called Far Cry 4 Quest For Everest. We chose one lucky fan to hike up Mt. Everest base camp, play an early version of the game, and break the Guinness World Record for Highest Altitude Video Game Session. The event was covered by over 100 national media outlets.

We challenged fans to submit a video demonstrating that they were worthy of the most epic video game adventure ever. Excited media and gamers lit up the internet and hundreds of submissions poured in.

We selected Will Cruz, a 23-year-old from Provo, Utah as the winner. Will had never left the U.S. before or journeyed to such intense elevations, and he provided the perfect narrative for our campaign as a “fish out of water” experience. Will and a 15-person team hiked to Mt. Everest base camp and achieved the Guinness World Record.

We created five episodic updates during the journey for social media and built a website where consumers could follow along from home. All video content intertwined Will’s story, cultural history and natural beauty of Nepal that had inspired the video game setting in Far Cry 4.

Will’s trip to Everest, and the resulting world record, sparked enormous attention around the globe, driving interest far beyond hardcore gamers. More than 100 national broadcast, print and online news stories generated 124 million media impressions, a $3.7 million dollar media value, across outlets that included Good Morning America, CNN Headline News, Yahoo!, Fox News and Business Insider.

Hours of gorgeous Himalayan footage were edited into nearly an hour of episodic content via YouTube and other media partners in the months leading up to the game’s launch, generating hundreds of thousands of additional video views and enormous social media chatter. Far Cry 4 became the fastest-selling game in the series, resulting in 42% sales growth for the brand, achieving the #2 Shooter this past holiday behind Call of Duty.