Amazon Rolls Out Augmented-Reality Shooter Game to Promote The Boys

Amazon Prime Video is giving fans of its dark superhero series The Boys a chance to blast away villains with the laser-beam eyes of a baby with its new augmented-reality game app.

The game, called Baby Laser Tag, is based on the plot of the series’ second season, the first episodes of which debuted on the streaming service earlier this month. Designed by experiential agency Jam3 and AKQA, it lets players take on agents of the villainous corporation at the center of the show and its corrupted superheroes while collecting objects central to the story of the new season.

“The goal? Survive as long as you can and just blast everything,” the game’s copy instructs.

The creators behind the campaign used the gaming graphics engine Unity to render 3D scans of each of the characters on any flat surface around a user’s phone. Game dialogue from each of the show’s protagonists is written to match the show’s dark, irreverent tone, and a YouTube video sets up the initial premise.

“We wanted to celebrate the launch of The Boys with our fans in a unique way, bringing the world of the show to them with diabolical baby ‘supes,'” said Jen Verdick, head of partnerships & events at Amazon Prime Video. “AR is the perfect medium to immerse fans and create a shareable, interactive experience right at home.”

The campaign is the latest example of how brands are turning to mixed-reality experiences like AR, virtual reality and even lifelike interactive avatars as the Covid-19 pandemic has shut down most in-person activations and large gatherings. HBO recently rolled out a VR experience to promote its show Lovecraft Country, and Spotify created a deepfake version of The Weeknd—also produced by Jam3—that was programmed to interact with fans on a one-on-one basis.

Laser Baby Tag is available on the App Store and Google Play in four languages: English, Spanish, French and Portuguese.