Just Cause 3

Square Enix Locks in the Buzz with Social Media Hub

Just Cause 3

Your Mission: Make Chaos


CLIENT: Square Enix Ltd


The Case

Chaos and graphics.

You might think that all video games incorporate these two elements, and you’d be right. But Just Cause 3 took it to a whole new level, with new graphics to create a whole new level of chaos.

Expanding the game to 5 major biomes, with better physics, dynamic gameplay and a wider range of weapons combining to heap on the chaos, the publishers at SquareEnix knew they had a winner on their hands. But not willing to rest on the laurels of their previous two successful franchise releases, they turned to social to create the buzz needed to ensure success with Just Cause 3.

The Approach

Mercenary Rico Rodriguez has returned to his homeland of Medici to work with the underground and take down brutal dictator General Sebastian Di Ravello. That much we know. The rest…you control.

Not only do you get to write your own history, you can look good doing it. With their #MyJC3Trailer promotion, fans of Rico’s chaos-inducing one-man-war could make their own trailer showcasing his exploits for the world to see. Not only can Rico win and liberate his homeland, but you can win some cool stuff too.

But that’s not all. The game’s promotion went beyond pixels to the real world with Rico action figures being bought up eagerly by avid fans. Users were encouraged to post their little rogue commando in unique places and share it with the hashtag #RicoWasHere. The result? Thousands of posts showing that Rico may appear to be merely a one-man army under the control of your thumbs, but in reality he’s not alone.

The Outcome

Described by the studio CEO as “70 percent wacky and 30 percent serious” with “just a touch of that James Bond agency feel,” Just Cause 3 was a runaway success with gamers worldwide. Releasing in December 2015, players flocked to stores to get in on the action and return Rico to his homeland. And the best part? The more virtual chaos he created in your hands—scored with “Chaos Points”—the closer you got to taking a very much not virtual $50,000 cash prize. Does it get any better than that?

With games worldwide exploring the exciting new environment, capabilities, and weapons, SquareEnix saw the results in the participation in their two hashtag promotions—#MyJC3Trailer and #RicoWasHere. Rico may not need anyone else to achieve his mission, but gamer’s camaraderie sure is nice.

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