Through regular closed beta events and frequent information reveals, Trion Worlds has really been pushing the word out on its upcoming fantasy MMO RIFT. The game's marketing campaign has taken a bit of an unexpected turn today with the announcement of a promotional partnership between the upcoming MMO and Valve's Team Fortress 2. Steam users who pre-order RIFT during the month of February or who have already purchased the game through Steam, will be given two limited-edition weapons in Team Fortress 2.
The "Sharpened Volcano Fragment" and "Sun-on-a-stick" are exclusive melee weapons available only to RIFT pre-order customers. In return, Valve is adding a new achievement to Team Fortress 2 that unlocks an exclusive item in RIFT. The Riftwalker achievement will grant TF2 players a code, which can be redeemed through the RIFT account management page. An exclusive headcrab-based headpiece, the "Well Spun Hat," will then be delivered in-game during RIFT's headstart period for pre-order customers on February 24th. This unusual promotion has left many of us here at Massively scratching our heads in confusion, but with the popularity of Valve's Team Fortress 2, it could prove to be a very successful move.
Reader Comments (28)
Posted: Feb 3rd 2011 12:04PM Greyjoy said
This game is ramping up its marketing, their investors must have deep pockets and good relations with important people
Posted: Feb 3rd 2011 12:05PM (Unverified) said
Didn't expect that, honestly.
Posted: Feb 3rd 2011 12:08PM Nautius said
That pic is going to give me nightmares.
Posted: Feb 3rd 2011 12:10PM Oskiee said
Well,. i wouldve bought on steam any way, i buy most of my games there, but now i have even more reason :OD
Posted: Feb 3rd 2011 1:03PM Carbon204 said
You know, I preordered from Trion the day they allowed it, then a few days later STEAM allowed preorders.
I really hope I can get the TF2 unlocks from Trion. :(
I really hope I can get the TF2 unlocks from Trion. :(
Posted: Feb 3rd 2011 1:20PM Carbon204 said
@Carbon204
Oops. Forgot the most important part.
Also, this looks like something found on RegrEtsy.
http://www.regretsy.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/laceyhmb.jpg
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Oops. Forgot the most important part.
Also, this looks like something found on RegrEtsy.
http://www.regretsy.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/laceyhmb.jpg
Posted: Feb 3rd 2011 2:50PM Joshua Przygocki said
@Carbon204 Same here, we are the most loyal of the loyal.
WE DESERVE STUPID UNLOCKS!!!
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WE DESERVE STUPID UNLOCKS!!!
Posted: Feb 3rd 2011 1:12PM Atnor said
Cool promotion, the Trion team seems to be moving pretty well. Really enjoying the Rift betas, and looking forward to the game coming out soon.
I already pre-ordered, and consciously chose not to go with Steam though. It's really unfortunate, cause i've been a big fan, but their lack of any sort of "family plan", so that my wife and I can play 2 different online games at once on 2 different computers, has really put a damper on my Steam usage.
I already pre-ordered, and consciously chose not to go with Steam though. It's really unfortunate, cause i've been a big fan, but their lack of any sort of "family plan", so that my wife and I can play 2 different online games at once on 2 different computers, has really put a damper on my Steam usage.
Posted: Feb 3rd 2011 1:19PM k3nt0456 said
All I keep hearing is "the game is all right, nothing particularly bad to mention", which is the exact same thing they said about Aion.
Sorry but it'll take a little more than "not bad" to dethrone wow
Sorry but it'll take a little more than "not bad" to dethrone wow
Posted: Feb 3rd 2011 1:34PM Seldra said
@k3nt0456
At this point, I don't think anyone really expects anything to dethrone WoW. As far as I'm concerned that's just wishful thinking. WoW will simply fade in time as EQ did before it.
Anyways, nice marketing strategy, though I am a little puzzled with the cross genre promoting.
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At this point, I don't think anyone really expects anything to dethrone WoW. As far as I'm concerned that's just wishful thinking. WoW will simply fade in time as EQ did before it.
Anyways, nice marketing strategy, though I am a little puzzled with the cross genre promoting.
Posted: Feb 3rd 2011 1:29PM Nerves said
@DennoCoil
Shut up and buy a hat.
Shut up and buy a hat.
Posted: Feb 3rd 2011 1:48PM eLdritchZ said
huh....
are you sure that that's the actual hat you get? because the well spun hat has been available for a form of ingame currency earned by completing collections... and it looks a lot more like a Gnar (weird spider bedbug monsters in Rift) than a headcrab...
cool promotion though. Can't ever have enough TF2 unlocks ;D
are you sure that that's the actual hat you get? because the well spun hat has been available for a form of ingame currency earned by completing collections... and it looks a lot more like a Gnar (weird spider bedbug monsters in Rift) than a headcrab...
cool promotion though. Can't ever have enough TF2 unlocks ;D
Posted: Feb 3rd 2011 2:51PM Joshua Przygocki said
@eLdritchZ Think about it, Rift is in beta right now.
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Posted: Feb 3rd 2011 1:55PM Sorithal said
It's probably after seeing Valve's promotion for Monday Night Combat (basically almost like a third-person shooter stylized like DotA but it has similar whacky/fast-paced action like TF2), where you could also get stuff for both TF2 and MNC if you bought the game before February 1st.
Posted: Feb 3rd 2011 3:35PM Peregrine said
This is an interesting idea - I'm a huge TF2 fan, and played the Rift betas - not sure if would put me over the edge in terms of pre-ordering the game, but it makes me think about it.
Posted: Feb 3rd 2011 4:25PM winterborn said
I sure hope they dont make the mistake of forcing Steaming pile for Rift.
Forcing Nazi software will loose them money.
For all you pile users, use Steam if you like but it should NEVER be the only option.
DRM.............. no thanks I will keep my money.
Forcing Nazi software will loose them money.
For all you pile users, use Steam if you like but it should NEVER be the only option.
DRM.............. no thanks I will keep my money.


