Pop artists the Jonas Brothers will be featuring exclusive previews of their new album in Candy Crush Saga, 24 hours before the record officially drops in other channels.
The musicians will also appear as “Candified” characters in-game to promote their album. With the in-game event set to take place between May 8 and May 28, before the album’s official drop on May 11, as part of the game’s Music-themed season. It’s not the first time a major musician has appeared in the title either, as last year, for the title’s tenth anniversary in 2022, Meghan Trainor - of All About That Bass fame - also previewed the music video for her latest song in-game.
In a statement the Jonas Brothers said, "We're suckers for a game of Candy Crush Saga, having spent years playing during downtime on set, and competing against each other while on the road. We cannot wait to invite fans into our favourite game to listen to our new music before it can be heard anywhere else. They'll also see us turned into characters in the game! For us, that's almost the most exciting part..."
Chief marketing officer at King, Fernanda Romano meanwhile added, "The Candy Kingdom is completely starstruck, and we're thrilled to welcome Kevin, Joe and Nick to the vibrant world of Candy Crush Saga. As we celebrate King turning 20 this year, and continue to drive the Candy Crush franchise forward, we're excited to create a space for curated music experiences and exclusive content, as well as provide our players worldwide with new immersive ways to play and engage with the game."
Crushing it
Given that this isn’t the first time a musician has collaborated with King on their mega-hit match3 title, it seems that Trainor’s event was successful enough that other musicians are taking notice. Although when people think 'metaverse' Candy Crush may not be the first thing that comes to mind, it does bear many of the concept's hallmarks including bringing real-life works into a virtual space and displaying them digitally and exclusively before more traditional mediums.
Certainly there’s a big difference between an entire album drop and a music video though. With mobile gaming (and gaming in general) easily outpacing music in terms of revenue it seems that the recording industry - and other sectors - are taking notice.
