Method Studios Bring to Life the Epic Worlds of Asgard's Wrath 2

Meta and BBDO enlist director John Likens and Method Studios to deliver an epic campaign to mark the launch of Asgard's Wrath 2.

BBDO challenged the team at Method to introduce, on a large scale, the main characters of Asgard's Wrath 2, the game’s rich narrative, and the beautiful realms in which its players will become immersed. The resulting outcome consisted of three unique cinematic game trailers, an NBA broadcast takeover piece, and a 65ft animated display at The Game Awards.

Led by John Likens, who also acted as ECD, and VFX supervisor Ivan Guerrero, the creative required involvement from every discipline and department at Method. The final films successfully integrated Live Action Footage, traditional VFX, and real-time animation using Unreal Engine. John notes, "Integrating these various tools, which historically do not play well with each other, and forging ways for them to work seamlessly is the future of filmmaking. It's something we are heavily focused on at Method."

Working closely with Meta and the game developers, CG supervisor Brian Dinoto and team, were able to rebuild and up-rez all the game assets from Asgard's Wrath 2 to a feature film quality level of detail. This enabled Real-Time CG supervisor Michael Ferraro and his team of Unreal Engine artists to focus on character animation, lighting, look development, and world-building.

Ivan explains the campaign's creation process: "We were provided an incredible array of game assets and references from the Asgard's Wrath 2 development team. Part of our job was to take those game assets, increase their detail level in the models and textures, and push them to a photographic level that could live alongside our live-action photography."

John concludes, "It's not every day you get the opportunity to work on a project that encompasses all the things you're truly passionate about. These films checked a lot of boxes for me. I got to direct the live-action, VFX, and animation teams and bring them together to make these stunning films. This, to me, is the sweet spot. And I hope I get to do a lot more of it."

Asgard's Wrath 2 was officially released on Friday, 15th December, and is available to play on the Meta Quest 2, 3, and Pro.