Hit Game Combines with High Fashion House For Game Skins Featuring Burberry's Signature Gabardine
March 22, 2021
[This unedited press release is made available courtesy of Game Developer and its partnership with notable game PR-related resource Games Press]
TiMi Studios :
MARCH 22, 2021
TiMi Studios, the world’s premier global mobile development studio, announced today that it is working with luxury brand Burberry to create two exclusive skins for Honor of Kings. Burberry chief creative officer Riccardo Tisci designed both skins for the massively-popular multiplayer modern-fantasy battle game title’s popular heroine Yao. This is Tisci’s first foray into design for a video game.
This collaboration centers around the “Spirit of Nature,” drawing on Burberry and TiMi’s long standing exploration of the relationship between humans and nature. The fashion house’s affinity to the outdoors links harmoniously with the character Yao, who takes the form of a deer and embodies the spirit of nature. Burberry’s signature gabardine, pioneered by founder Thomas Burberry and designed to protect the wearer against the elements, fits seamlessly with Yao, who personifies the role of a protector for her teammates.
Honor of Kings, which set a world record with 100 million average daily users in November of 2020, has offered a new place of discovery for the Burberry community to engage with Burberry product and house codes in a unique interactive experience. Each exclusive skin is inspired by Burberry house codes as reinterpreted by Tisci and seamlessly blend the physical and digital worlds. Yao’s ‘Spirit of Nature’ new skin draws upon Burberry’s rich heritage and includes references to the iconic House check, the trench coat and the Thomas Burberry Monogram. This skin draws upon each of these iconic Burberry hallmarks and reinvents them for a modern look that reflects Yao’s strong, dynamic and adventurous character. Yao’s transformation into a deer with the ‘Spirit of Nature’ skin takes on a mirrored form, drawing upon Tisci's fascination with the concept of duality and the creativity found in two perspectives.
Through Yao’s ‘Spirit of The Forest & Ocean’ Legend skin, Burberry is also expanding the popular ‘Legend’ skin line in Honor of Kings by using one of its runway looks from the Spring/Summer 2021 collection ‘In Bloom.’ This collection is inspired by the concepts of regeneration, dynamic youth and reconnecting with nature. Yao’s look draws upon the collection’s mythical marine references and features a warm royal blue collarless trench coat and a crystal-embroidered vest. When Yao transforms into a deer, her crystal body pulsates blue light.
This high fashion collaboration with Burberry is a first for Honor of Kings and demonstrates the growing cultural relevance of the Honor of Kings brand. It also continues the trend of exciting co-created content in the game. Honor of Kings offers a profound and inclusive ecosystem for partners and their brands to participate in an authentic manner. The creativity sparked through these partnerships has generated expansive value for players, partners and Honor of Kings.
The exclusive Burberry skins will be available to purchase for all Honor of Kings players in mainland China. The skins will then remain part of the players’ permanent collection. Besides that, Honor of Kings also cooperates with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to launch the “Spirit of Nature Guardian Program”. This program will aid in the protection of the natural habitats of Milu deer, reflecting the relationship between humanity and nature with a concrete action.
QUOTES
‘I am excited to see how technology has found a way to build and nurture the core human needs of personal and emotional connections. Honor of Kings has created an incredible digital world where we can find a new way to dream with our Burberry community. The power of creativity is that it can open spaces and push boundaries, and I am so excited to have designed exclusive skins that will bring Burberry house codes into this immersive universe.’
Riccardo Tisci, Chief Creative Officer at Burberry
‘The story of the heroine Yao represents Honor of Kings’ eastern reflections on the symbiotic relationship between humans and nature, which also coincides harmoniously with Burberry's exploration of that relationship. The combination of the eastern and western creative concepts is an important cornerstone of this collaboration. Looking forward, we hope our co-created works can bring more users surprise and delight.’
Colin Yao, Vice President of Tencent and President of TiMi Studios
‘Burberry has always had a spirit of adventure. Partnering with Honor of Kings feels like a natural step up for our move into gaming, going beyond our in-house games by bringing the Burberry universe into an established environment. By allowing our Chinese customers to explore virtual products through the medium of online games, we can connect with our communities in a way that really resonates with them. It has been fantastic to work so closely with Tencent to bring this new customer experience to life.’
Josie Zhang, President of Burberry China
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Notes to Editors:
A teaser video was released March 17 and can be found here. https://youtu.be/XRGfokhO7kY
About the product
The ‘Spirit of Nature’ new skin
In homage to Burberry hallmarks, Yao wears a classic cotton gabardine off-the-shoulder trench coat in Burberry beige and House check – styled with a cropped top, shorts and thigh-high boots.
These virtual pieces have been designed exclusively for players in Honor of Kings and are not available to purchase.
The ‘Spirit of Forest & Ocean’ Legend skin
The Honor of Kings character, Yao, wears Look 9 from Riccardo Tisci’sSpring/Summer 2021 collection for Burberry: a warm royal blue collarless trench coat and bib-front trousers, with a crystal-embroidered vest and black leather wader boots.
The trench coat and trousers are available to purchase online and in stores in mainland China.
Named ‘In Bloom’, the Burberry Spring/Summer 2021 collection takes inspiration from a modern mythology, a contemporary fairy tale – a love story between a mermaid and a shark, darkly romantic and unexpected.
This collaboration marks the first time Honor of Kings has partnered with another brand on their ‘Legend’ skin offering.
About Burberry and Gaming
Burberry launched its first game, B Bounce, in October 2019 and its extension Ratberry, in celebration of Chinese New Year, in January 2020.
The luxury fashion house’s first multi-player game, B Surf, was launched in July 2020 in support of the Thomas Burberry Summer Monogram campaign.
All games have been developed in-house by Burberry’s digital teams.
About Burberry
Burberry is a global luxury brand, headquartered in London, UK.
Founded in 1856, Burberry is listed on the London Stock Exchange (BRBY.L) and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 index.
BURBERRY, the Equestrian Knight Device, the Burberry Check and the Thomas Burberry Monogram and Print are trademarks belonging to Burberry.
For more news: www.burberryplc.com
About Honor of Kings
Honor of Kings is a mobile competitive battle game developed and operated by TiMi Studios. It pairs competitive gameplay with dynamic social interactions and is tailored for play on mobile devices -- the primary and most popular gaming device for players in China. Since its launch in 2015, it has gained momentum to become the most popular game in China and one of the world's highest grossing games of all time.It’s the first game in the world to average a world-record 100 million daily active user base.
About TiMi Studios
TiMi Studios, a subsidiary of Tencent Games, is a leading global video game development team headquartered in Shenzhen, China, with offices in Los Angeles, Shanghai and Chengdu, China. TiMi strives to create high quality, high fidelity and highly accessible games across a wide variety of genres.
Founded in 2008, TiMi has developed a string of hit titles including Honor of Kings, Speed Drifters, Saint Seiya: Awakening, CrossFire: Legends, and most recently, Call of Duty: Mobile.
TiMi is working on several new titles, including with The Pokémon Company on Pokémon Unite, the first strategic Pokémon team battle game.
About Tencent Games
Tencent Games was launched in 2003 and has since grown into the leading global platform for game development, publishing and operation, and is also the operator of the largest online game community in China.
Tencent Games is committed to exploring the full potential of games, leveraging the rich IP resources within Tencent, spanning literature, anime, film, and television, to create engaging, high-quality and interactive entertainment experiences for all players.
While providing the best games, Tencent strives to serve the community by exploring the positive social value of games. Tencent has taken the lead in creating a balanced and healthy game system with its partners and players.
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