TURNING A CULT GAME INTO A MAINSTREAM SUCCESS
Released on Meta Quest’s App Lab, Gorilla Tag amassed millions of active users en route to its status as a certified VR phenomenon. The game’s low-poly design, unique mechanics, and high replay value spawned a rabid community across TikTok, YouTube, and dedicated subreddits.
As developers (Another Axiom) looked ahead to an official Meta Quest Store launch, they came to Scout House with an interesting challenge: indoctrinate a wider audience into the “Cult of Monke,” without alienating the community that had grown organically around the game.
Every successful launch strategy is part education and part entertainment. For a cult title like Gorilla Tag, Scout House knew the marketing content had to speak two languages. A story was needed that validated the social-savvy veterans while broadening the appeal of the game to new players.
The inspiration came from an unlikely place: nature documentaries. With a tongue-in-cheek parody style complete with a dramatic soundtrack and a serious academic narrator, the launch trailer invited viewers into the world of the gorilla—its social behaviors, movements, and rituals. Scout House paralleled gameplay capture with a story of a new player learning to master the game’s mechanics, gradually coming to “Reject Humanity and Become Monke.”
On the heels of a wildly buzzed-about store launch, Scout House followed up with a social strategy of rolling out meme-worthy content, optimized for the platforms where the game’s mythos and inside jokes are shared.
