The Match Maker
Open the game- Brand
- MSI
- Year
- 2021
- Objective
- Engagement
- Industry
- Tech & Telecom
- Mechanic
- Mini-Games
- Platform
- Web
- Agency
- Merci-Michel
Objective
For its 35th anniversary, MSI wanted a reason for gamers to engage with the brand beyond its product lineup — by competing rather than shopping. Pairing players up and dangling a prize pool of MSI hardware and merch gave the anniversary a competitive hook and doubled as a way to pull in registrations and contact details from the gamer community.
Solution
Players arrive at matchmaker.msi.com and build a gamer profile, picking their favorite genres and preferred play style. The site then pairs them with another player of similar taste and skill level, and the two are dropped into a run of short skill challenges — among them a shooting-gallery round and a drawing round — scoring points as they clear each one. That score sets a player's standing in an ongoing prize contest, with rewards scaling from MSI merch up to gaming hardware. The contest stayed open through August 31, 2021, so players had reason to come back and post a better score before it closed.
Results
85,000 players took part, and the campaign captured 42,000 contacts through profile sign-ups.
- 1
Players enter through a neon 3D corridor intro with a cookie-consent banner, then reach a start screen that names the game, explains that they will build a gamer profile, get matched with a similar player, and test their skills in a series of mini-games, and shows an entry deadline and a rotating prize list before they press start.
- 2
Players complete a four-question profile survey — covering favorite genre, weekly hours played, and preferred platform, among others — each answered by tapping one of several illustrated cards; picking an answer transitions into the next question as the corridor scene reshapes around it.
- 3
The game searches for a teammate, showing the player's own neon avatar first while a wait indicator runs, then fills the paired slot with a real participant's avatar, nickname, and country once a match is found.
- 4
A full-screen countdown leads into the camera flying deeper into a darkened neon arena where the round takes place.
- 5
Each round opens by naming the skill being tested and its challenge — such as tracing a perfect circle around a crosshair for precision — then converts the player's performance into a points score once the time bar runs out.
- 6
The player's and teammate's round score combine into a running final match score.
- 7
The pair moves through further mini-games testing other skills such as stamina, attention, speed, and reaction, including a target-shooting round, each following the same test-and-score structure.
- 8
The combined score entered by the deadline enters the pair into a giveaway of MSI gaming hardware and branded merchandise, with a higher score raising the odds and tier of the prize.
