Bullet Train VR
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Case Study
Bullet
Train VR
A mobile VR experience that immersed moviegoers directly into the action.
Turning a film launch into a playable hunt.
Client
Empire Entertainment
Year
2022
Category
Entertainment
Region
MENA
Services
At a Glance
- PartnersColumbia Pictures
- CategoryEntertainment launch, phygital experience
- Core MechanicScan a QR code and play instantly in a mobile web browser (no app download)
- Prize HookOfficial movie merchandise for those who identified the correct luggage
In Their Words
Testimonial
Working with Almost Impossible on Bullet Train was exactly the kind of bold, non-traditional thinking we look for. They took the film’s core story and turned it into a genuinely immersive 360° mobile web VR game that moviegoers actively chose to play. The QR entry point was brilliantly simple, placed directly on the movie posters, so audiences could scan and jump in instantly with zero friction and no app download. The concept was tight, the execution was polished, and it created real participation and buzz at launch. Huge credit to Jobi and the team for the creativity, speed, and collaborative spirit. They delivered an experience that truly cut through.
Serge ZabbalBusiness Director, Empire Entertainment
Connect on LinkedIn
The case film showing how we turned a movie launch into a playable VR hunt.
01 — The Brief
Launch a cult Japanese film with a bang in MENA
Bullet Train is a movie adaptation of the Japanese book “Maria Beetle” by Kotaro Isaka. While it had a cult following, not many had heard of it outside Japan. Empire Entertainment wanted to launch the movie in the region with a bang.
Project Scope
Objective: Non-traditional movie launch
Platform: Mobile VR (browser-based)
Entry: QR Code
Reward: Official movie merchandise
02 — The tension we challenged
Standard launches rely
on predictable promos
A standard movie launch usually means familiar media and predictable on-ground promos. But this film is built on momentum: constant pursuit, escalating stakes, and one object everyone is chasing, the silver briefcase.
The Insight
The film itself is an engine of pursuit. The marketing should mirror that energy — not describe it, but recreate it.
So we asked:
What if the audience did not just watch the chase, but joined it?
03 — The strategic reframe
Instead of advertising the story, we recreated the story’s emotional engine: the hunt
We designed an experience that made moviegoers feel like they had stepped into the movie world, with the urgency and adrenaline of being inside the action, not outside it.
This is the Define moment:
Taking the brief as given, then defining the real job to be done.
04 — The Idea
Transport moviegoers
into the action itself
The Bullet Train movie is an adrenaline-filled, non-stop action flick that any fan of action movies would enjoy. To help promote the movie, we transported moviegoers as if they were part of the action.
We set players on a quest to help the protagonist find the missing briefcase through an immersive VR game.
Experience Design
Format: Mobile VR — browser-based
Entry: QR Code scan
Quest: Find the missing briefcase
Reward: Official movie merchandise
Bullet Train VR 360 IRL Movie Experience
05 — What We Made
A phygital, movie-accurate
experience end-to-end
A phygital, movie-accurate experience that merged a physical environment with a digital quest.
- A replica of a Tokyo bullet train station with a dystopian queueing moment
- A recreation of the inside of the Bullet Train that players explored through mobile VR
- A Mobile VR game that ran directly in a mobile web browser — no app download, minimal friction
- QR-based entry so anyone could scan and play instantly
- A “find the briefcase” quest built around identifying the correct luggage
- Official movie merchandise as the reward for successful players
IRL Movie Experience
Physical set: Movie-accurate station replica
Digital layer: Browser-based mobile VR
Entry: QR Code — zero friction
Game mechanic: Luggage identification quest
Reward: Official merchandise
This is the Deliver work:
Engineering the experience end-to-end so the idea lands flawlessly in the real world.
06 — How It Showed Up in the World
From physical set
to digital quest
- Moviegoers entered a physical set inspired by the Bullet Train universe.
- They scanned a QR code and launched the game immediately in-browser.
- They played through the immersive mobile VR journey and tried to identify the correct luggage.
- Winners walked away with official merchandise, turning participation into a memorable personal win.
CX Flow
1. Scan
2. Play
3. Win
4. Repeat
And that is the Delight:
Removing barriers (no app), making it movie-accurate, and rewarding the audience with a tangible payoff.
07 — Impact
Box Office Success
5,000+
Players in opening weekend alone
Saudi Arabia
Highest number of players by country — more than half of total
2nd Highest
Grossing movie in MENA after the US
3Min
Average play time
100%
Completion rate
08 — Why This Matters
Participation over
interruption
Because it shows what happens when launch marketing stops telling people about a film and starts inviting them into the film.
By turning the briefcase chase into a playable hunt, we created a non-traditional launch that earned attention through participation rather than interruption.
Work Delivered
Capabilities
Digital Experience & Content
- Digital Platforms & UX
- Digital Film & Motion
- Mobile Experiences
- Personalisation & CRM
Brand Experience & Activation
- Experiential Activations & Events
- Interactive & Phygital
- Entertainment-led Experiences
Cross-cutting Capabilities
- Creative Strategy & Concepts
- Creative Direction
- Effectiveness & Results
