Why Scopely hosted real-world match Dough Fest for Monopoly Pass

Scopely’s Monopoly Pass has bagged greater than $5 billion in two years to this point.

That’s in all probability afforded the developer the chance to get extra ingenious with its advertising and marketing pushes and group activations. In September, Scopely organised its first hybrid group match.

It paired in combination its first free-to-attend real-world meals and sticky label buying and selling competition in London, Dough Fest, with an international in-game buying and selling match referred to as Industry Fest.

The corporate claims the development resulted in report engagement in the United Kingdom, attracted tens of hundreds new buyers international, and resulted in an uplift in social invitations. In particular, in the United Kingdom, Scopely says it noticed double-digit enlargement in natural installs and reactivations, whilst social invitations higher by means of 45%. Globally, Industry Fest drove an 80% build up in buying and selling task over the weekend.

To get an concept of why it will make a selection a trading-focused match – Scopely says that greater than 3 billion stickers had been traded within the sport since release. Chatting with PocketGamer.biz, Scopely VP of regional advertising and marketing for Monopoly Pass Sophie Younger says avid gamers were clamouring for a technique to deliver their in-game social connections into the true global.

It’s price noting that Scopely has soft-launched a Monopoly Pass Chat app, too, to assist avid gamers attach additional. The sport’s Discord, in the meantime, has multiple million participants.

“We noticed it in our colourful Discord communities, within the friendships forming day by day, and in how continuously avid gamers expressed their need to fulfill the folk they’d been buying and selling with for months and even years,” says Younger.

“That perception turned into the place to begin for our first large-scale IRL second. However we additionally knew just a small fraction of our world target market would be capable of attend in particular person, so it was once crucial that no matter we constructed had a complementary in-game part that allowed everybody to take part. 

“That’s why we created Dough Fest, a London-based meals and sticky label buying and selling match, along Industry Fest, an international in-game match the place we doubled sticky label buying and selling limits for the primary time throughout the similar weekend.”

Culinary competition

Previous this yr, Scopely obtained Pokémon Pass developer Niantic’s video games trade in a $3.5 billion deal. The developer is understood for web hosting ticketed real-world occasions. Did Scopely faucet that experience for Monopoly Pass?

“We’ve lengthy admired what Pokémon Pass has completed in pioneering genuine global play,” states Younger.

“Their talent to deliver other folks in combination via shared journey is strange and having that stage of experience inside the Scopely portfolio is inspiring. It offers us get entry to to treasured wisdom about how genuine global stories can deepen participant connection.

“That mentioned, the spark for Dough Fest got here at once from our personal group.”

Dough Fest, which came about in East London’s Truman Brewery (no, no longer that one), drew from Monopoly Pass’s Bon Appétit sticky label album from the sport’s Culinary Season, which celebrates dishes around the world.

The development presented out doughnuts from Bread Forward and meals critic Grace Dent, pizza from Napoli at the Highway, and different treats. Dough Fest reached the 1,000 attendee capability, with an extra 8,000 mentioned to be at the waitlist.

“Past the meals, we constructed interactive moments and devoted sticky label buying and selling zones designed to replicate the enjoyment of in-game gathering and buying and selling,” explains Younger.

“We additionally introduced pieces from the Bon Appétit album to lifestyles – every hero introduction turned into a collectable in-game sticky label connecting genuine global style to virtual play. Seeing avid gamers business stickers face-to-face for the primary time, many assembly other folks they’d traded with on-line for months, was once extremely transferring and completely captured the spirit of the group. 

“To make sure everybody may just participate, we paired the competition with our first-ever 48 hour world Industry Fest, doubling buying and selling limits international. The reaction was once superb. Buying and selling task surged and we noticed our very best spike in new buyers for 2025. Whether or not they had been at Dough Fest or becoming a member of from house, avid gamers all over the place felt a part of one shared party.”

Younger says there’s an urge for food for extra occasions like this, in particular round buying and selling. The crew is these days exploring what long run real-world stories may just appear to be, however it’s too early to percentage specifics.

“What issues maximum is growing moments that deepen pleasure and connection for avid gamers, whether or not the ones moments occur on-line, offline, or someplace in between,” states Younger.

“As for Pokémon Pass, we have now immense admiration for what that crew has completed and now we have now the privilege of finding out from their genuine global play experience. There’s a large number of ingenious inspiration there. However this weekend was once in the end about Monopoly Pass and the strange world group that continues to make it the sport the sector performs in combination.”

Further reporting by means of Craig Chapple.