SUBSURF: Building the Consumer Lifestyle Brand of Subway Surfers, the World’s Most Downloaded Endless Runner Game

SYBO Games juggernaut mobile game “Subway Surfers” continues to break its own records. In six years, the game has achieved more than 2.1 billion downloads, with a jaw-dropping 52 million downloads in June alone.

When the App store celebrated its 10th anniversary earlier this year, it named “Subway Surfers” as one of the most downloaded games ever. In 2017, the endless runner became the first game to reach 1 billion downloads in Google Play.

But these record-breaking analytics are just one part of the success story, as SYBO Games’ SUBSURF consumer lifestyle program aims to further connect its audience with the brand its fans love.

“Our fan base is amazingly loyal; they’ve already adopted a ‘Subway Surfers’ lifestyle,” says Naz Amarchi-Cuevas, head of brand marketing and licensing, SYBO Games. “At the same time, we know our audience wants more. They want rich content, cool consumer products and ways to extend the experience that feels organic and not forced. That is what the animated series and SUBSURF brings to the table.”

“Subway Surfers: The Animated Series” brings fans further into the “Subway Surfers” universe. Audiences get to see their favorite characters navigate the exuberant joys and ironically-epic dilemmas of teenage life. Together, friends Jake, Tricky, Fresh and Yutani explore their magical city on skateboards and discover an amazing mystery that introduces new technology and changes their lives forever.

Scripted by Brent Friedman and Francesca Marie Smith, and produced by Daytime Emmy award-winning producer Sander Schwartz, the 10x4 episodic series launched earlier this year, with new episodes dropping on SYBO’s YouTube channel. A long-form series is in development and planned for 2019.

“As we continue to roll out the SUBSURF consumer lifestyle arm, the animated series and more, the most important aspects of taking ‘Subway Surfers’ from game to series is staying authentic to the property’s original attributes–skate, art, music and dance,” says Amarchi-Cuevas. “We have built a massive fan base surrounding the original street art brand, and these pillars are what resonates when one thinks of ‘Subway Surfers.’ Everything we do must then support these pillars.”

SUBSURF also extends the “Subway Surfers” brand beyond games and products and into real life.

To illustrate the city’s influence on “Subway Surfers” while paying tribute to Paris’ iconic urban, street-style, SYBO Games commissioned and dedicated a mural to the city of Paris; they held an epic-beach party in Venice Beach, Calif., to allow fans and passerby’s to immerse themselves in the art, music, fashion and skate scene in the “Subway Surfers” universe. And at Rock in Lisbon, SYBO gave fans a chance to hone agility and parkour skills and experience “Subway Surfers” in real size.

“IRL events are so important; it’s being where the fan is and connecting with them in a way where the fan can engage with the digital brand in a physical way,” Amarchi-Cuevas adds. At Brand Licensing Europe last week, SYBO Games revealed SYBO TV, streaming content creation and distribution platform. Launching later this year, SYBO TV will be the go-to destination for all things “Subway Surfers.” Led by the game, “Subway Surfers: The Animated Series” and the playful Jake Shakes’ bite-sized videos, SYBO TV will offer live game streams, trailers, extensive behind-the-scenes videos, lifestyle content and more. SYBO TV also offers a platform for influencers and content creators from across the globe a central location to share their original “Subway Surfers” content.

“SYBO TV is a one-stop digital destination for long-term fans and new audiences to dive further and share the experience,” says Amarchi-Cuevas. “Subway Surfers” plays on a global stage with a massive presence in territories including the U.S., Latin America, the U.K., Germany, Latin Europe (Portugal, Spain, France and Italy), Russia and India. As the SUBSURF licensing grows, SYBO seeks to engage with partners that are connected and dedicated to Generation Y and Z fans, and who understand the street culture ethos of the brand. “We want partners that think locally for its market, but also bridge the gap and find a common pattern that fans and audiences embrace no matter the language or culture,” says Amachi-Cuevas.

Every month, SYBO Games and publisher/co-developer Kiloo’s “Subway Surfers” lands in a new city or country. The game’s key characters have traveled to more than 43 destinations. Players take on the role of the graffiti-tagging main protagonist, Jake, or one of his many friends as they run from the grumpy inspector and his dog through the subway systems of famous cities around the world while collecting coins and dodging oncoming trains. The “Subway Surfers” world tour rolls into New Orleans Oct. 11.