RIYADH: Fans of the Korean band BTS are in for a treat with an opportunity to win merchandise from a new game featuring the band. 
ITP Gaming has launched an activation of a mobile game in the Middle East and North Africa region, marking a collaboration between Garena Free Fire and BTS.
The main activation is a pop-up in the Saudi capital’s bustling Riyadh Front shopping and entertainment district, which features a series of activities related to the band and their participation in the game from March 24 to April 2.
Abdullah Al-Houti, executive sales for ITP Gaming, explained that Garena gave them permission to promote the game in the MENA region.
“Korean music group BTS are one of the world’s most popular bands and were the top-selling artists of 2020 and 2021. They are also very popular in KSA, which is why we had the permission to promote it here,” Al-Houti told Arab News. 
“We planned to promote the game in a pop-up that has fun activities for visitors, like the photo booth. The wall of the pop-up explains how BTS designed the characters of the game, with each member of the team designing their character.” 
Visitors were invited to participate in free activities, such as the interactive photo booth where they could place themselves in the game’s setting alongside the K-pop superstars, a spinning wheel where they could win limited-edition Free Fire x BTS merchandise, and a gallery wall with never-before-seen hand-drawn costume designs from the BTS members themselves.

“I like how when you enter the pop-up, you can listen to BTS music in the background. The place is attracting a lot of visitors. I know many people who love the band, and owning their merchandise is amazing to those who like to collect their things, including myself,” Eman Mohammed, a visitor of the pop-up, told Arab News.
Many influencers were invited to visit the booth to share their experiences on social media platforms. Lina, who is also known as KPOPINA, complimented the work they put into the pop-up.
“As a K-pop fan, I really loved it. The details, colors and gifts were amazing, and I enjoyed the photo booth section, too. The workers are also friendly. I really hope to see more K-pop events like this in the future,” the influencer said.
“We worked as a team to make this pop-up happen. To mark the one-of-a-kind collaboration, we, as ITP Gaming, are also organizing similar activations in two other important MENA countries, Egypt and Morocco,” Al-Houti added.
Free Fire, a mobile battle royale game launched by Garena, was the most downloaded mobile game in the world in 2019, 2020 and 2021. The partnership will see a series of in-game costumes and collectibles themed around the band, as well as custom emotes and hidden artwork for fans.