Battlegrounds to bridal gowns: How Krafton got a BGMI couple to tie the knot

When Tanupreet and Jaspreet first crossed paths in the adrenaline-fuelled virtual battlegrounds of BGMI, little did they know that their tactical alliance would blossom into a lifelong commitment. Even more unexpected was that the very game that brought them together would transform itself into an enthusiastic wedding planner, orchestrating what would become India's first-ever dual-universe wedding celebration.

The popular battle royale game Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI), with its staggering 200 million player base, decided to step beyond its usual territory of virtual combat to celebrate something far more precious—a genuine love story that had blossomed within its digital world.

From virtual teammates to life partners

It began like countless other matches—two strangers randomly paired together in BGMI's team mode. But something clicked between Tanupreet and Jaspreet that went beyond tactical coordination. Using the game's built-in social features, they soon found themselves spending more time in the game's lobby than in actual combat zones—a telling sign that something more meaningful was developing.

"The lobby of the game actually sees 3x more time spent from players compared to the battlegrounds," reveals Rahul Mathew, chief creative officer at DDB Mudra Group. "What are people doing? They're interacting. And you cannot have a more immersive experience than a game."

This immersion, according to Mathew, creates uniquely deep connections. "If you are building such connections on an immersive experience, imagine how deep those connections are," he explains. "And we felt there's nothing deeper that you can catch and hold on to than love."

How BGMI played cupid

For BGMI's parent company Krafton India, the couple's story represented a perfect opportunity to showcase how gaming transcends its stereotype as mere entertainment. Srinjoy Das, associate director and marketing lead at Krafton India, explains their motivation behind the unprecedented campaign.

"We celebrate a lot of things inside the game—our game's anniversary, esports champions. But the common player, the average player, they don't get celebrated as much," Das notes.

"We wanted to bring celebrations down to not just the esports players but to everyone. It's like celebrating not just World Cup winners but also someone who wins daily neighbourhood cricket."

The timing couldn't have been more perfect. BGMI had recently introduced a 'Home Ground' mode, allowing players to build their own virtual spaces. This feature provided the perfect platform to host a virtual wedding parallel to the real-world ceremony.

Planning a two-world wedding

What followed was months of meticulous planning that would challenge even the most seasoned wedding planners. The campaign required simultaneous preparation in two universes—the real world and the virtual one.

"The game is not made for weddings," Das explains. "We had to grant certain items to accounts. A bunch of people prepared the venue—they had to buy the right things and put them in the right places."

Meanwhile, in the real world, the team from DDB Mudra Group was equally busy planning the physical ceremony. "Creating the wedding was insane, and we have great respect for wedding planners after this," Mathew admits. "It is harrowing work".

Rather than creating a commercial, the team decided to document the authentic wedding and make it feel like a celebration that the entire BGMI community could be part of. They carefully incorporated traditional wedding elements like mehndi and mantap ceremonies while ensuring respect for cultural rituals.

Convincing the families—easier than expected

One might assume that convincing traditional Indian parents to allow a gaming company to take over their children's wedding would be a challenge. Surprisingly, that wasn't the case.

"The couples did all of that," Mathew reveals. "If it's a couple who met online and they managed to convince their parents to get them married, they've already crossed a certain journey with their parents about what that game is."

The resulting campaign wasn't just about the wedding itself but creating a phenomenon that the entire BGMI community could participate in. The three-day celebration included traditional Mehendi, Sangeet, and the grand Shaadi ceremony—all mirrored in both physical and virtual realms.

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The wedding featured custom BGMI-themed outfits designed by the renowned Ritu Beri, while singer Benny Dayal performed at the virtual Sangeet. The festivities even caught the attention of celebrities outside the gaming world, with playful FOMO posts from the likes of Karan Johar and Olympic gold medallist Neeraj Chopra.

To spread awareness, Krafton leveraged its extensive network of key opinion leaders (KOLs) in the gaming community. "Naman, known as Mortal, got married very recently. So we sent an invite to him, and then he put up a celebration and spoke to his fan base: 'Hey, you guys can attend the wedding,'" Das explained.

The campaign extended the celebration to all BGMI players through the launch of the 'Shaadi Duo' event, encouraging gamers to team up and explore the very features that had brought Tanupreet and Jaspreet together—"Synergy, Connection Requests, and Love".

As per the brand, the campaign has so far clocked 17.2 million views from BGMI's own pages, with 557,463 post engagements and 45,515 reshares from the brand's Instagram handle.

The success of this unprecedented campaign stemmed from the strong four-year partnership between Krafton India and DDB Mudra Group's 22feet Tribal WW, a digital marketing agency. This relationship has evolved to a point where the agency deeply understands both the game and its community, as per Mathew.

"In India specifically, the wedding emotion is an emotion that brings different worlds together. How many weddings have we vicariously lived through in the recent past? And this story had enough in it to represent the nuances of what this game really means," Mathew adds.