When inZOI burst onto the market, its vibrant world and limitless creative freedom instantly captured players’ hearts. But the first wave of hype faded as quickly as it arrived: novelty gave way to routine, and the audience began drifting toward other titles. That was the exact moment — with the release of the major Cahaya update — when we needed to do more than just remind people about the game; we needed to make them fall in love with it all over again.
So we came up with ZOIFESTation — a contest that flipped the script on how to bring players back. From August 22 to October 3, 2025, we invited the community to make a wish. The brief was simple: dream up the scene of your dreams, shoot a video of it, and share it with the hashtag #ZOIFESTation so the Universe (and us, too) could make it come true.
The audience showed up in a huge way: the landing page racked up over 56,000 visits, participants published hundreds of creations, and the campaign’s total reach soared past 4.2 million. But the real win wasn’t just bringing players back to the game — it was giving them a tool for creativity and a reason to believe in miracles.
Why “manifestation,” and what does inZOI have to do with it?
inZOI is a game about crafting your ideal life. Its audience is largely women who love inventing stories, dressing up characters, and building worlds. We understood that to keep them, we had to speak the language of emotions and aspirations. The Cahaya update introduced new possibilities, and we decided to connect them with the trend of goal visualization. That’s how the ZOIFESTation festival was born — a summer celebration where anyone could “send a request to the Universe” through gameplay.
We set ourselves several goals:
- Turn the update into an event, not just a patch;
- Spark a flood of high-quality UGC;
- Attract new players and deepen loyalty among existing ones;
- Build a living, active community around inZOI that would keep creating long after the contest ended.
Stage 1. The website as a portal to a world of wishes
On May 2, we launched a dedicated landing page — simple, atmospheric, and incredibly welcoming. There, visitors could read the rules, get inspired by examples, and, most importantly, submit their entry. The mechanics couldn’t have been easier: shoot a video in inZOI where your dream comes true (or fails spectacularly), post it on social media with the hashtag, then send us the link through the form. Participants could submit as many works as they liked — the more entries, the higher the chance to win. And to keep engagement alive over a month and a half, we ran four weekly prize draws among everyone who had submitted. “The Universe has heard you” — that’s how we announced the winners, and it sounded less like a formality and more like a little miracle.
Stage 2. Star judges and special nominations
We had a special surprise in store for the most creative participants — four themed categories, with a jury of popular streamers selecting five winners in each. The judges didn’t just evaluate the entries; they became part of the campaign. Streamers posted announcements, hosted live broadcasts, reviewed submissions, and inspired viewers to take part. Their integrations generated over 3.5 million views — and that’s not counting our own Telegram and VK channels, which added close to another 500,000 in reach.
Stage 3. The community as the real prize
The best works were featured in our social hubs, viewers voted with hearts, and participants supported one another. UGC content tagged #ZOIFESTation spread to 240,000 views — thousands of tiny stories told by the players themselves. The atmosphere was steeped in the belief that wishes really do come true if you visualize them properly. And when we announced the finalists in the special nominations on September 24 and then held the last random draw, nobody left disappointed: even those who didn’t win a prize gained a creative experience and new connections.
Results and the biggest achievement
The numbers speak for themselves: around 57,000 landing page visits, 43,000 unique participants, total reach over 4.2 million. But what matters far more is this — we proved that an emotional mechanic can reignite interest in a game far more effectively than any direct ad campaign. Beyond drawing attention to the Cahaya update, the contest showed just how many people are ready to tell their own stories, if you give them the right tools and a little faith in miracles.
