George Orwell’s 1984 Immersive experience on Twitch

With George Orwell’s iconic novel, 1984, launching as an audiobook on Audible, the streaming service wanted to drum up excitement amongst listeners by getting them involved in an interactive Twitch activation that played into the themes of the dystopian tale.

The 1984 Twitch stream was a complex, narrative-driven activation that complemented the novel’s plot whilst drawing gaming influencers and their followers into the action.

Taking on the role of a rebel group aiming to take down propaganda centre ‘TruthHQ’ and unlock a teaser of the new audiobook, three popular Twitch streamers were set a series of challenges to solve with the help of their audiences in an immersive experience that felt like it came straight from the book’s pages.

The 1984 Twitch stream was a narrative-driven activation that engaged gaming influencers and their followers. Three popular streamers, playing rebels aiming to take down TruthHQ, faced challenges with audience participation to unlock a teaser of the new audiobook. The experience felt like stepping right into the book’s world.

‘TruthHQ’ was a 3D environment powered by Unity, running 24/7 to showcase AI-generated propaganda content. This virtual space added depth to the experience.

To build hype for the main streams, mini stunts or "injections" were used. UNIT9 hacked the streamers' feeds with propaganda videos and mysterious letters, driving the narrative and teasing the upcoming game events.

With 12k users following along, the activation successfully introduced the Twitch audience to the world of 1984, inspiring them to learn more and directing them towards the Audible audiobook. UNIT9 successfully put their spin on one of literature’s greatest works and ultimately set a new standard for what can be done on Twitch, creating a shared immersive experience that got gaming fans talking.

Credits:

Director JAKUB JAKUBOWSKI

Brand TWITCH / AUDIBLE