Before the Second World War tank drama Fury rolls into cinemas, video gamers have a chance to take on the role of Brad Pitt's character, Sgt Don "Wardaddy" Collier, and steer a virtual version of the tank he commands in the film.
It’s the latest example of a like-minded movie and game aligning to promote each other, and it marks the first Hollywood pact for the popular online tank combat title.
"It made sense," said Victor Kislyi, the chief executive of World of Tanks developer Wargaming. "Both audiences are interested in historical accuracy, so why don't we do something together?
“We didn’t want to overdo it. We appreciate the opportunity, but our audience wants appropriateness. It’s show business – you never know how it’s going to turn out before the premiere.”
The movie, set in 1945, follows a five-man crew as they carry out brutal missions behind enemy lines during the final days of the war. World of Tanks Blitz players on iOS can purchase a Fury-themed bundle for US$15 (Dh55) that adds the film's M4A3E8 Sherman tank – an exact replica, right down to the name "Fury" scrawled on the gun – to the mobile version of the game.
The nimble war machine, a crew member resembling Pitt's Wardaddy and Fury-themed missions inspired by the film's battles between German and US forces can also be deployed to the PC and Xbox 360 editions of World of Tanks for $30. While the game is free to play, upgraded tanks and resources cost extra for wannabe tankers.
The game, first released in Russia in 2010, has about 110 million registered players around the world battling each other in 500 different types of tanks representing a variety of nations. World of Tanks also boasts the Guinness World Record for the most players playing simultaneously on one server: 190,541 on a Russian server in 2013.
Sony Pictures approached Wargaming about the Fury collaboration after the filmmakers recruited some of the same tank experts that the Cyprus-based game studio enlists to ensure the accuracy of the machines in World of Tanks. Fury director David Ayers was even on hand at Wargaming's Electronic Entertainment Expo booth in Los Angeles during the summer to preview footage from the movie.
Such cross-promotional efforts in Hollywood have long been considered to be more beneficial for the games than the films, but in an era where the latest instalments of smash-hit game franchises such as Halo and Call of Duty are promoted with marketing budgets larger than many film releases, the Belarus-born Kislyi doesn't see the alliance with Fury the same way.
"I believe that this movie could have a significant extra audience because of the millions and millions of World of Tanks gamers," he said.
“The movie is the movie. The game is the game. However, how can you not want to go and watch this movie if you play this game, if you are someone who is hooked on German and American tank combat? You’ll have to see it.”
• The Fury bundles for iOS, PC and Xbox360 are available now
