Immersion as a Promotional Strategy: Case of Cyberpunk 2077

Abstract

Video game company CD Projekt RED, recently released a highly anticipated futuristic RPG, Cyberpunk 2077, following a massive integrated marketing campaign. During their exhaustive marketing execution, they constantly used social media to engage with the community and posted technically enhanced visuals along with trailers and gameplay videos. This chapter analyzes the marketing campaign mentioned above, and then using the insights of grounded theory, it attempts to reveal underlying meanings surrounding the discourse of immersion as an experience within the context of Night City Wire, a promotional content created by CD Projekt RED for Cyberpunk 2077. Critical discourse analysis (CDA) is carried out in line with Fairclough’s (1995) three-dimensional framework which covers the examination of text properties, features of discursive practice, and the wider social practice. Results suggest that immersion as a video game consumption experience is indeed offered as a key value of the relevant video game product. Besides, the idea of being in an organic, alive world is also strongly promoted. This study demonstrates that video games are evolved to become more than simple means of entertainment. © 2022 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.