Brands Return to Making Video Games, Creative Bloq Asks Why

Creative Bloq recently featured a piece exploring why brands are diving back into video games. They highlighted Pepsi Man to WendyQuest as key examples in this trend. Unfortunately, we only have access to the headline, so this report will discuss the implications of that framing and what remains unclear.

Pepsi Man serves as the older reference. This mascot platformer debuted on PlayStation in Japan way back in 1999. This shows that branded games have been around for decades, not just emerging recently. WendyQuest is the newer example mentioned by Creative Bloq, but we couldn’t find details on its platform, release date, or overall scope in the material provided.

The word “again” in Creative Bloq’s headline hints at a cycle. Brands seem to be revisiting a format they used in the past. However, the reasons behind this resurgence—like budgets, distribution strategies, or audience targeting—aren’t covered in what we reviewed. We’re not going to speculate on them.

Another story is making waves in the same feed. Game Developer published a headline stating, “Anthropic orders AI tool Claude to stop remaking video games.” Meanwhile, PCMag Middle East ran a similar piece titled “Claude: Stop Using Me to Recreate Games.” Both articles only include their headlines, leaving us in the dark about what prompted this directive, which games were affected, or if any rights holders were involved.

There’s no link between these two stories in the sources. They share a common theme about who gets to make games and how branding or ownership plays a role, but we don’t have evidence connecting them.

Community Pulse

The source material doesn’t include player reviews, forum threads, or social media posts about either story. So, we can’t report any community quotes. We’re not going to paraphrase sentiment without attribution. Expect to see reactions pop up once full articles and statements from developers or publishers are released.

What To Watch

• Creative Bloq’s full feature for specific numbers on how many branded games have launched and details on WendyQuest’s performance.
• Statements from Anthropic that clarify the Claude directive, including which games are involved and the policy behind it.
• Any responses from publishers or rights holders regarding AI tools that replicate existing games.