Jakub Jakubowski

La Liga: The Beat Challenge

‘Our vision was to add, quite literally and figuratively, another layer to the park experience. Allowing our users to engage with the park in a deeper way. Elevating the time waiting between rides into a ride in itself.’

Stefan Ilkovics, Creative Director, UNIT9

‘In The Beat Challenge, the player embarks on a virtual adventure while exploring the physical space of PortAventura World – taking the visit to a whole new level of immersion and brand experience.’

Jakub Jakubowski, Game Director, UNIT9

The background

LaLiga Entertainment – comprising LaLiga, PortAventura World and Kosmos – were looking to extend the theme park experience for fans worldwide and drive visits to PortAventura World. Along with COPA90, we set out to deliver an original, immersive experience that reimagines football fan engagement and sets the precedent for the next generation of theme park experiences.

The execution

We created a world-first entertainment experience that elevates the in-park experience to a whole new level. The Beat Challenge drops the excitement of PortAventura World and LaLiga into visitors’ palms and offers a hybrid gaming experience by enhancing the physical infrastructure of the park with a digital overlay.

The app leverages augmented reality and geolocation technology to bring the virtual football world to life within the theme park, engaging audiences with their physical surroundings. Guided and challenged by 200ft tall AR footballers, such as Gerard Piqué, Karim Benzema and Jan Oblak, users are able to unlock and play different football-themed games in each area of the park, encouraging them to discover an evolving immersive experience like no other.

We created 40 different mini-challenges within the experience, with players able to put their defense, dribble and shooting skills to the test, as well as track their progress on an interactive map. Users can also customise their own avatar to represent them in the virtual football world, with new features and collectibles available the more they explore.

The Beat Challenge user journey actually begins at home, with a teaser giving audiences the option to try the games in training mode. This tutorial gives a taste of what’s to come and acts as a driver to encourage fans to visit the park and complete the full Beat Challenge experience

The results

The future of location-based entertainment is hybrid, and The Beat Challenge pioneers a new approach to immerse guests even deeper in the physical locations they can explore. Along with COPA90, we have successfully built an updatable platform for LaLiga Entertainment to engage and entertain their audience, along with a portfolio of unique digital IP that will continue to evolve and grow.