Connect with a global gaming community
May 2022, millions of eyes from all over the world were on Antwerp for the Counter-Strike World Cup. That’s because Counter-Strike (CS:GO) is one the most popular games in the world. In the run-up to the championship, the city of Antwerp launched 'Antwerp Harbour', a special map in the Counter-Strike game. Antwerp proved itself as a hotspot for gamers, but also encouraged the international gaming community to discover the city.
To get all gaming fans acquainted with the host city in advance, we created a campaign that immediately shows the city's best assets to every CS:GO gamer: in collaboration with game map developer Mapshot, we built a unique Counter-Strike map named ‘Antwerp Harbour’. This enables gamers to discover Antwerp's must sees before, during and after the e-sports tournament from their gaming chair, simply by downloading the game map via Steam.
A hint of Antwerp
So, in the virtual harbour, gamers can encounter numerous elements that refer to the city's gems. For example, you could suddenly come across a Rubens masterpiece next to a sea container or diamonds could literally fall out of a truck. Always with different Antwerp landmarks such as the Port House, the MAS and the Boerentoren in the skyline. Not to forget, you will probably also come across the iconic Antwerp Velokes or you’ll see posters or graffiti with clear messages inviting you to visit the city.
Community
Besides developing the typical Antwerp elements for the game, we also put a huge amount of thought and time into the gameplay aspect of the map. We chose to fully develop the game together with a team of professional CS:GO players, because we know the gaming community is very critical. And the results are there: only three days after its launch, 'Antwerp Harbor' was already in second place among the most popular maps on Steam. Proof that the CS:GO community really likes the new map.
We chose the port of Antwerp as the playing field for this map, because a port is a grateful environment for a shooter game. Thanks to the many containers, cranes and surrounding water, there are many places can hide.
Campaign
To launch the campaign, a gaming booth was set up on 7 May at the Stadsfeestzaal in Antwerp. There, Bart De Wever, the mayor of Antwerp, Erica Caluwaerts, the Alderman for Marketing & Communications and William Boeva, a Flemish stand-up comedian, had the honour of being the first to play in the custom-built game map. You can play 'Antwerp Harbour' for free on the online platform Steam or at the gaming booth in the Sportpaleis during the PGL Antwerp Major.
gaming booth
Besides the gaming booths, the campaign will also have a digital component: influencers and gamers, such as William Boeva and MrTweeday, an avid CS:GO player and streamer, will be promoting the game map in the coming weeks via livestreams on Twitch.
