June’s Journey makes TV crossover through ITV Big Brother collaboration

• June's Journey featured in a special Big Brother task broadcast on November 4th.
• The partnership looked to introduce June's Journey to new audiences through mainstream television.
• Wooga says the collaboration marks the first integration of a mobile games IP into ITV's Big Brother series.

Playtika-owned Wooga partnered with ITV to bring its mobile hidden-object title June’s Journey into the Big Brother house during the reality show’s final week. 

The collaboration appeared in the November 4th episode, where the game’s 1920s setting and mechanics were adapted into a live-action challenge for contestants.

The companies noted it marks the first time a mobile game IP has been integrated into ITV's Big Brother series. 

A task titled ‘The Mystery of the Missing Housemates' was given out, which saw four of the contestants locked in a room while the remaining housemates had to work through a series of puzzles to secure their release. 

The challenges included examining photographs for hidden clues and decoding a message using a giant gramophone. Each activity drew inspiration from the game’s core mechanics. 

Reaching new audiences 

Wooga senior game director for June’s Journey, Ben O’Donnell, said the collaboration gave them a chance to introduce the mobile title to viewers who may not have encountered it before. 

“We've always loved finding new and unexpected ways to bring June's Journey to life, and this collaboration with Big Brother has been a particularly fun one,” said O'Donnell.

“It's also a fantastic opportunity to introduce the game to people who might not have come across it before, by bringing the experience directly into a programme they already love.”

Banijay UK head of commercial partnerships Chris Holdom highlighted the opportunity to adapt the game’s mechanics for television.

“What made this partnership particularly exciting was the opportunity to take the mechanics of a popular mobile game and turn them into a real-life challenge. Big Brother has always been about putting housemates in unexpected situations, and June's Journey gave us a whole new world to play with.”

The partnership follows Wooga’s expansion of June’s Journey beyond mobile through other transmedia projects, including the novel Death Wasn’t Invited. Earlier this year, PocketGamer.biz spoke with Wooga managing director Dennis Korf and author Carlene O’Connor about adapting the game’s world for the book.

June’s Journey has been the highest-grossing game globally in the hidden-object puzzle subgenre by consumer spending across the App Store and Google Play since April 2019, according to Wooga, citing Sensor Tower. 

Transmedia will be among the topics explored at Pocket Gamer Connects London, taking place on January 18th and 19th, 2027.