Just days before the Simplified Chinese launch of RuneScape: Dragonwilds (《符文世界：龙之荒野》), we brought the game to Guangzhou for a different kind of warm-up. Guangzhou is the 3rd biggest city in China.

On June 18–19, Dragonwilds joined the Liede Dragon Boat Festival, one of Guangzhou’s well-known local celebrations.

The timing was intentional. With the Chinese version launching on June 23, we wanted to do more than introduce the game through regular gaming channels. We wanted to give Chinese players a chance to encounter Dragonwilds in a local setting, and to show respect for the culture of the market the game was entering.

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Finding a Local Connection

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The Dragon Boat Festival gave us a natural starting point.

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Dragons are central to the fantasy of RuneScape: Dragonwilds, while the dragon also carries a very different and deeply rooted cultural meaning in China. Instead of simply using that connection as a marketing theme, we wanted Dragonwilds to take part in a real local celebration.

Liede offered exactly that opportunity.

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Dragon boat racing is a living tradition in the local community, bringing together residents, young visitors and spectators from across Guangzhou. The audience was also a strong match for Dragonwilds: 75% of festival visitors were aged 18–25, with interests including gaming, ACG culture, sports and new experiences.

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With the Simplified Chinese version arriving on June 23, the festival gave us a timely opportunity to introduce the game to local players through an existing cultural event.

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Becoming Part of the Festival

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RuneScape: Dragonwilds appeared throughout the festival, with branding along the dragon boat race viewing area and a customized Dragonwilds dragon boat.

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The game was also present at the traditional Dragon Boat Dinner with its own dedicated table, placing it alongside another important part of the local celebration.

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For visitors, we created an on-site booth with a simple interaction: follow the game’s social channels to receive a small gift, or share the festival experience on social media for a larger reward.

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The merchandise was designed for hot summer, including bottled water, fans, canvas bags and sun hats that visitors could use during the event.

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We wanted the game to fit naturally into the festival without turning the event into a game convention.

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Taking the Experience Beyond Guangzhou

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The culturalization effort continued online through creators, gaming media and community channels.

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Douyin creator Liuxiao, a PC and console gaming creator with more than 1.6 million followers, joined the festival and documented the experience in a Vlog. The Vlog reached 297,000 views and generated 7000 interactions on Douyin. She later introduced Dragonwilds to her audience through a gameplay livestream.

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We also worked with top media partners like 3DM and GCORES to tell the story from different perspectives.

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3DM looked at the thinking behind bringing Western and Chinese interpretations of the dragon together, and what this kind of local activation could mean for a new game entering the market.

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GCORES took a more experiential approach. Their team joined the celebration firsthand — getting onto the water, experiencing the Dragon Boat Dinner and seeing how the game became part of the local festivities.

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Meanwhile, the campaign continued through Dragonwilds’ own communities across Bilibili, Douyin, RedNote and HeyBox. More than 400 players joined the Dragon Boat Festival merchandise giveaway on HeyBox alone, exceeding our expectations during the warm-up period.

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Together, these activities helped carry a local experience in Guangzhou into a much broader conversation among Chinese players.

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The Results

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The festival itself attracted significant attention. Liede Village received 200k above visits on its busiest day, while the surrounding commercial area recorded nearly 1 million visits over three days.

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The offline campaign designed forRuneScape: Dragonwilds, gave us a strong local momentum just days before the Simplified Chinese version launched. Players encountered the game at the festival, while creator content, gaming media and community activities carried the experience to a wider online audience, which significantly drive the wishlist growth.

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It also showed what culturalization can look like during a China market warm-up: finding a local tradition that makes sense for the game, taking part in it respectfully, and using that experience to introduce the game to Chinese players.

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