House of Anubis: The Secrets Within

Objective

Nickelodeon created an interactive gaming experience to support the U.S. television launch of its supernatural mystery series "House of Anubis" in January 2011. The branded game aimed to engage young viewers aged 6-11 by extending the show's narrative beyond television, creating an immersive environment where players could explore the central premise of the series—a mysterious boarding house with hidden secrets. The campaign leveraged the show's premiere momentum, which drew 2.9 million viewers for its first two episodes.

Solution

The agency developed a full-featured 3D Flash adventure game accessible through web browsers, offering hours of gameplay with interconnected puzzle-solving and exploration mechanics. Players selected from the show's characters and navigated the House of Anubis, collecting items, deciphering riddles, engaging in combat with creatures, and assembling puzzle pieces to progress toward defeating the antagonist and completing the Cup of Ankh quest. The game was deployed across Nickelodeon portals in multiple territories including Belgium, Germany, UK, Sweden, Denmark, and Switzerland, with localized versions for different markets.

Results

The game achieved significant success and spawned two sequels. It earned recognition from the FWA (Fears Web Awards) for 'The Secrets Within' and other titles.