"It wasn’t easy": Supercell's struggle to get Squad Busters included at Summer Game Fest

• Supercell’s live action Squad Busters trailer appeared at Summer Game Fest 2024, to the surprise of much of the audience
• Supercell marketing boss Rob Lowe said this "wasn't easy"

The fifth Summer Game Fest wrapped up this week after days of announcements, plenty of trailers, and a sliver of mobile attention in the form of Supercell’s Squad Busters.

The trailer’s presence towards the end of the two-hour presentation took many viewers by surprise as the only mobile exclusive featured, and just as many took to social media to share their surprise that a mobile game could muster such a slick and star-laden promo. Given mobile is typically overlooked entirely at Summer Game Fest, Squad Busters’ presence was far from guaranteed.

In fact, Supercell marketing boss Rob Lowe has just told GamesIndustry.biz that event organisers were initially "reluctant" to feature a mobile game and Summer Game Fest founder Geoff Keighley initially rejected the idea.

"We don’t really do that," Keighley said, according to Lowe, in reference to the prospect of a mobile-only game trailer.

"It wasn’t easy," said Lowe.

Mobile manoeuvre

Summer Game Fest’s reluctance to feature a mobile-only title, even when that title comes from an industry giant like Supercell, speaks volumes to the persisting perception in some parts of the industry that mobile remains a element of video games (rather than its largest component).

Mobile generated more than PC and console combined in 2023.

The Clash of Clans creator understands this, naturally, so Lowe argued the importance of bringing mobile-only titles to the conversation alongside console and PC games. Supercell’s request also included a video from comedian and actor Ken Jeong, who plays Hay Day’s Chicken in the live-action Squad Busters, dressed as the character while talking to a prospective Summer Game Fest audience.

Paving the way

Keighly ultimately agreed to feature Squad Busters in the presentation, with Jeong’s video featuring just before the trailer.

"I think that played into Geoff's ego quite nicely, so he was like, 'Alright, we'll put you in.' We still paid for the privilege obviously. But seriously - we both agreed it was important to have something that contextualised the trailer for that engaged SGF audience, so it was great to get the piece from Ken in there as an intro to the ad," said Lowe.

"We see ourselves as a company that want to take similar track to what Nintendo does in console gaming, but in mobile gaming. The way we make our games, the way we market our games... It's something that's very dear to me. It just so happens that a phone is a console that everyone has in their pocket."

After appearing in the presentation, Summer Game Fest posted the trailer again on Twitter, asking "Are you havin’ fun yet?" in reference to the actors singing.

Whether Squad Busters will open the doors to more mobile games appearing in future Summer Games Fest remains to be seen, but it does at the very least mark progress for mobile’s recognition as a valid platform for great games.