Copycats Welcome.

Clash Royale has been copied by many knock-off games that imitate its name, look, gameplay and characters (Ogilvy). The case-study entry reads that as demand, 'millions of people are actively looking for the Clash Royale experience', so rather than fight the copycats in court, the brand 'saw an opportunity to turn imitation into acquisition'.

A launch film pulled the game's characters, such as the Barbarian and the Archer, through a portal into a run of fake Clash Royale worlds before they found their way back to the real arena. Aimed at players of the copycat games, it sent them to a microsite where they could submit their progress and in-game currency from the knock-off and turn it into rewards in the real game, including free gold and Wild Cards (Ogilvy; Ads of the World). Pocket Tactics reported up to 50,000 gold and 200 Wild Card credits on offer to players who left the fake games.