In the latest promotional campaign for smash-hit Honkai: Star Rail, miHoYo is collaborating with restaurants around the world.
Participating restaurants are located throughout Europe, Asia and America with chains confirmed so far including Domino’s, Wendy’s, KFC and Miss Millie’s.
A galactic feast
To incentivise players to take part in this real-world event, they will be rewarded with physical merchandise from the restaurants like a stand with character portraits or a special badge (while stocks last). In-game rewards will also be available, like a Chef Pom-Pom avatar, the consumable item Pom-Pom’s Fried Fowl and a cooking recipe.
A particular "collaboration set meal" has to be ordered to obtain such prizes, with requirements varying by location and outlined on miHoYo’s site. The Galactic Delicacies set must be ordered in Germany, for example, meanwhile Designer French Fries are the product to purchase in Japan.
In a much more overt promotional move for Star Rail, fans in the UK must take photos of participating restaurants and post them on social media, then have these posts approved by staff for their rewards. Cosplaying in Star Rail attire will also net UK visitors a 10% discount on certain meals.
To call Honkai: Star Rail a success of astronomical proportions may be an understatement, with unprecedented launch installs followed by $500 million in revenues after only a few months. Per download, as is often the case, Japan represents the highest spend in-game, followed by China and South Korea. Notably, all three countries have restaurants participating in the upcoming event.
Such a move echoes real-world manoeuvres seen from Roblox, like when Chipotle became the first restaurant to open a virtual location in its metaverse almost two years ago. In a similar cross-promotional celebration, Chipotle made free burritos available to guests while offering in-game virtual Halloween costumes and exclusive Roblox items.
Niantic has been doing something similar with Kung Fu Tea, partnering to transform over 350 bubble tea shops into PokéStops and Gyms.
