V Rising is an open-world vampire survival game developed by Stunlock Studios, which captivated fans with its gothic allure and immersive gameplay. After a successful Early Access launch in 2022, the game’s highly anticipated 1.0 version officially launched two years later on Steam and PlayStation 5. While Stunlock Studios oversaw content creator interactions, Plan of Attack handled all PR communications throughout the full launch campaign.

The communications campaign began on September 5th, 2022 with the release of Dev Blog #15: Future Visions, a detailed roadmap that offered fans a glimpse into Stunlock’s ambitious plans for the full release. This announcement was covered by 58 outlets - including Zona MMORPG, Massively Overpowered, JeuxOnLine, TechRaptor, and Gamekult - but it was just the beginning.

Things picked up substantially on October 24th, when we announced the Halloween Event update - which included a free-to-play weekend. The community embraced this spooky celebration, which secured 144 media hits from outlets like PC Gamer, GamesRadar+, PCGamesN, Eurogamer, and even mainstream news outlet USA Today.

Winter brought even more to sink our teeth into with three Dev Blogs spanning Dec 8th, 2022 - March 9th, 2023. Each one of these outlined content coming in the next update, and these garnered a combined total of 139 news hits, piquing interest from PCGamesN, Fextralife, PC Gamer, Rock Paper Shotgun, The Escapist, and Bloody Disgusting.

Amidst this in January 2023, V Rising celebrated a monumental achievement of 3 million sales! We whipped up a press release celebrating this milestone, which was picked up by 63 outlets across North America and Europe.

V Rising’s next big milestone would be its impending Secrets of Gloomrot update. To hype this up, we revealed the release date with a cinematic trailer on April 13th, 2023, followed by gameplay trailers on April 26th and May 10th, then an “Out Now” announcement on May 17th. These earned a combined total of 313 news stories, with coverage from IGN, Eurogamer, Bloody Disgusting, PC Gamer, Hardcore Gamer, and PCGamesN. Throughout the summer, the DLC inspired a wave of tips and guides from outlets like PC Gamer, Attack of the Fanboy, WCCFtech, TechRaptor, and Game Rant.

With the DLC keeping the community occupied, we were able to take a step back and only made one more PR push in 2023 by teasing that V Rising would leave Early Access in Q2 2024. This was covered by 60 outlets, including PCGamesN, TechRaptor, and Rock Paper Shotgun.

We came back in a big way in 2024 with a stunning reveal during Sony’s State of Play. On February 1st, 2024, V Rising’s PlayStation 5 version was officially announced, igniting excitement and generating a whopping 186 hits from outlets like Game Informer, IGN, GamesRadar+, Game Rant and more. We also threw in a Dev Diary on February 15th, though this didn’t move the needle much with only 23 news hits. People were waiting for a bigger announcement - and boy did we deliver!

Indeed on March 14th, 2024 we revealed the game’s 1.0 PC release date, noting that the PlayStation 5 version would follow shortly thereafter. This caused a frenzy, generating 134 hits from Eurogamer, Gameranx, IGN, Rock Paper Shotgun, Vandal, Screen Rant and more.

That was only the beginning and shortly thereafter, on March 26th, the game revealed that its crossover event “Legacy of Castlevania” would be available at launch. This secured an additional 185 news hits with GameSpot, IGN, Digital Trends, and Destructoid. The hype was so strong that when we revealed a gameplay trailer showcasing the V Rising x Castlevania collaboration during the Triple-i Showcase on April 10th, it generated another 100 news stories, with coverage from GameSpot, Insider Gaming, and IGN. We also announced a new milestone of 4 million units sold, which resulted in yet another 40 news stories.

The final weeks leading up to launch featured two more trailers: the Ruins of Mortium Gameplay Trailer on April 18th, and the Launch Trailer on May 2nd. These resulted in another 196 news hits from IGN, Prima Games, GameSpot, VideoGamer, and PC Gamer.

The excitement reached a crescendo on May 8th, 2024 as V Rising launched its 1.0 version on PC, surging to a peak of 78,164 concurrent players. Indeed, its emergence out of Early Access garnered yet another 87 news stories.

Finally, the game’s PlayStation 5 journey came full circle. Pre-orders for the PS5 version were announced on May 20th, 2024, earning 213 hits. The full PlayStation launch on June 11th, 2024, alongside the news that V Rising was the UK’s best selling game in May when it launched on Steam, securing 67 hits.

The full launch campaign for V Rising built upon the solid foundation laid during Early Access, delivering exceptional results and exceeding expectations. Stunlock Studios and Plan of Attack orchestrated a well-timed, comprehensive PR strategy that drove excitement while growing the game’s visibility. The vampiric allure coupled with innovative survival mechanics and immersive combat design that captured players’ hearts during Early Access continued to shine, keeping the community and media engaged.

Through consistent updates, cinematic reveals and creative collaborations like the Castlevania crossover, Stunlock Studios captivated both long-time fans and newcomers. Thoughtfully crafted dev blogs, gameplay trailers and community events highlighted the game’s evolution, ensuring that the momentum carried on seamlessly from Early Access into the 1.0 release.

With V Rising surpassing significant milestones, earning widespread media coverage, and achieving impressive sales figures, the full launch campaign cemented its reputation while also establishing the game as a standout success in the genre. Stunlock Studios enters this new chapter with a thriving fanbase and a strong legacy to build upon.