How Moonton brought Naruto to life for Filipino Mobile Legends fans

MANILA, Philippines — Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) has collaborated with big names before — but nothing has come close to the scale and impact of its Naruto crossover in the Philippines. 

From full-on map transformations and offline activations to Naruto-themed booths in different events across Metro Manila, Moonton Games Philippines has pulled off all the stops for this one campaign. 

But why with this particular collaboration?

“With other activations, you’d usually just see a [collab] skin out there. But with Naruto, it’s something every Filipino kid knows,” said Jose Chua Jr., publishing marketing manager for Moonton Games Philippines.

The Philippines is not only one of MLBB’s strongest markets; it is also a nation where anime is part of everyday culture. Moonton recognized the opportunity to connect two massive fandoms: mobile gaming and anime.

"Si Naruto, ‘pag narinig mo siya, alam mo agad, kahit hindi mo siya napanood. The huge factor was the familiarity of all the Filipinos [to the title],” added Chua.

Instead of the usual skin drops and in-app promotions, the local rollout of the game collaboration included large-scale offline events such as a live Ichiraku Ramen Bar at Market! Market! and a Naruto-themed MPL Playoffs Playground — designed to feel as immersive and nostalgic as possible.

But getting the ball rolling for this type of activation for an IP collaboration had been a long battle with different approvals needed given the use of the IP.

Chua added, "What we fought for was for Filipinos to specifically be able to experience what the real Naruto experience is. Yun yung pinaka-pinaglaban namin. If you could see the ramen booth, it's really exactly what you can see in the anime. When we did the event, we didn't just want to put out some regular event. We want it to be the perfect Naruto experience that we can give."

The collaboration booths were seen across Metro Manila: at Market! Market! in Taguig City, during the FanFest at One Ayala in Makati City; &FRIENDS in Pasay City; as well as throughout the Season 15 Playoffs of MPL Philippines, with even partner brands joining in the Naruto-themed event.

"It wasn't really hard for us to encourage them to follow the thematic campaigns and executions for the playoffs. Even they were actually excited." shared Lee Viloria, Esports Business Development & Partnerships lead at Moonton.

But the success of the Naruto x MLBB collaboration is all thanks to the fans who have been waiting for such an event to come locally.

"We hear the players. We see the comments and we definitely review that. Especially the suggestions because we really want to hear local insights as well," said Chua.

With the conclusion of the Naruto x MLBB collaboration and its local activations, Chua hopes fans continue to stay tuned for what is to come to the land of dawn.

"I cannot confirm but most probably it's already on the advanced server, and some KOLs are already talking about it, testing it. Definitely there's a Phase 2,” teased Chua.