10 Most Desperate Ways Video Games Got You To Play
4. Hiring Hollywood Talent
One of the easiest ways to give a video game press in the wider entertainment world is to hire a name actor to star in it, ideally lending both their voice and likeness to play a part.
Now, this isn't to say that every celebrity role in a video game comes from a place of desperation - Rockstar has done a consistently good job of not letting A-lister voice artists hijack the GTA games, but GTA is also in the unique position of being among the most commercially successful IP on the planet.
Even with video games being taken more seriously by the wider world these days, for the most part it's fair to say that Hollywood actors are hired to serve as the marketing face of a game and impress a greater sense of prestige upon it.
Take Bruce Willis in Apocalypse or, more recently, Keanu Reeves in Cyberpunk 2077. Hell, while Peter Dinklage didn't physically appear in Destiny, his voice was a major aspect of the game's marketing, even if it ironically ended up being removed at a later date.
There's no denying that the presence of a beloved, well-known actor in a game will make just about anybody perk up and pay attention.
Take Vin Diesel's bizarre involvement in the upcoming Ark 2, which has gotten considerably more eyes on that game than it would've otherwise had, no matter how it turns out.