Of all the partnerships Atlus could have pursued as part of its Metaphor: ReFantazio promotion, an F1 team was not on my bingo card, but it looks like I'll have to add another space.
Per a press release, Metaphor: ReFantazio is teaming up with the MoneyGram Haas F1 team ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix, which takes place this weekend.
The game's logo will apparently "adorn the top nose" of cars driven by F1 racers Nico Hülkenberg and Kevin Magnussen, and each car will feature a slightly different design. I'm betting a lot of folks watching that race won't have a clue what they're looking at.
According to the press release, Hülkenberg’s car will bear a logo featuring Hulkenberg (that's a character from the game and not the driver in question, believe it or not), while Magnussen's car will feature the game's protagonist.
Atlus marketing director Irvin Ducournau says that since "overcoming fear and anxiety" is one of Metaphor: ReFantazio's central themes, teaming up with two drivers who are "known for defying the impossible" makes perfect sense.
Additionally, he says that teaming up with MoneyGram Haas makes sense because the game's "competitive election mechanic" is essentially a "race for victory". Well, he talks a good game, I'll give him that.
For his part, meanwhile, MoneyGram Haas marketing director Mark Morrell says that Metaphor: ReFantazio is "filled with all the speed, suspense and excitement you would expect from a Grand Prix weekend".
If you're not across Metaphor: ReFantazio, it's a JRPG developed by Studio Zero, a company formed by Persona staffers Katsura Hashino, Shigenori Soejima, and Shoji Meguro, which would probably explain why it looks like a Persona game despite not being one.
The game takes place across the real world and a medieval fantasy world that acts as its mirror, and you'll play as a character who must lift a curse placed on the medieval realm's prince.
Metaphor: ReFantazio is due to launch on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox Series X|S on October 11th. You can read our preview here to find out how hyped you should be for the game.
