Game development studio Bethesda has created a Tinder profile to promote its "Fallout Shelter" mobile game.
The company used "Fallout" series mascot Vault Boy for its profile on the popular dating app.
As reported by Kotaku, although there are a lot of fake profiles on Tinder, the one Bethesda made is authentic. Based on his profile, Vault Boy is 25 years old. He likes to collect bottlecaps, enjoys drinking Nuke Cola and exploring the blasted wasteland.
According to the gaming site, clicking on Vault Boy's profile will show users a download link for "Fallout Shelter," a spin-off game for mobile devices that's based on the "Fallout" franchise.
The game first came out in June for iOS devices. It then made its way to the Android platform in August. Similar to the game play of the "Sims," "Fallout Shelter" requires players to take care of a group of survivors living inside an underground shelter or Vault.
By collecting resources and through upgrades, gamers will be able to fortify their Vaults and keep their inhabitants happy.
Since Tinder is being used by an average of 50 million people a month according to Gamerant, it's no surprise that Bethesda chose the app as an advertisement platform for the mobile game.
Although, given the game's marketing success, Bethesda doesn't even need to advertise it in order to attract more players.
Within two weeks after the game debuted on Apple's App Store, "Fallout Shelter" was already able to earn more than $5 million. Since the game is free-to-play, the earnings came from in-app microtransactions.
Due to its popularity, "Fallout Shelter" was able to beat "Candy Crush Saga" as the number one game in the App Store.
SuperData Research, a marketing firm that analyzes online games and other playable content, praised Bethesda for its success. According to Joost van Dreunen, the firm's chief executive, although "Fallout Shelter" was only meant to promote the upcoming main title "Fallout 4," the mobile game turned out to be a success on its own.
"In a stroke of marketing brilliance, Bethesda managed to win E3 early by delivering a superb press conference and launching a top-grossing mobile game in its wake," the executive said in a press release according to Gamerant.
"Originally developed as a marketing tool for the release of its upcoming 'Fallout 4,' the mobile game is a hit in its own right," he added.
As for the main game, "Fallout 4" is scheduled to come out on Nov. 10 for the Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One platforms.
