Gismart is taking up the fight against coronavirus by joining the #PlayApartTogether campaign, launched last week by gaming industry giants to reach millions with important health guidelines from The World Health Organisation (WHO). The campaign is a joint effort of the gaming industry including Zynga, Snap Games, Activision Blizzard are seizing the opportunity to use their most powerful platforms – their games – to help fight Covid-19 and flattening the curve.
With more people staying inside and self-isolating due to the coronavirus pandemic, gaming companies have seen an increase in downloads and engagement. Gismart itself saw a 200% active users growth in some countries including those on quarantine and 20% increase in user sessions just in the last couple of months. With gaming companies now reaching a wider audience globally, this poses a great opportunity to use their channels to encourage positive actions to promote public health. By bringing special events, exclusives, activities, rewards, and inspiration to some of the most popular games in the world, Gismart and other gaming companies are hoping to provide entertainment to their players whilst staying home, and encourage behaviours that will help limit the spread of COVID-19. With over 500 million downloads and their recent 6th place ranking in the FT 1000 European fastest growing companies list, Gismart knows that with great power comes great responsibility. That is why it is using its portfolio of games to get the messages of public health out to its users. By integrating the WHO’s visuals and messages throughout their extensive mobile games portfolio, users will be encouraged to follow the WHO’s health guidelines including physical distancing, hand hygiene, respiratory etiquette and other powerful preventive actions.
With the increased levels of stress and anxiety linked to the Covid-19 pandemic, Gismart has also made their award-winning mindfulness app Music Zen free to everyone worldwide. Music Zen is designed to help people cope with stress, anxiety and insomnia with features such as meditation and breathing exercises, relaxing scenes and sounds, and mini games. Now more than ever, people are seeking to find ways to relax and reduce stress, and Gismart hopes that by making the app available for everyone, it will help those who are struggling.
Lana Meisak, VP of Business Development and Marketing, said:
“Gismart’s games have tens of millions of players. From the start of the pandemic, our active user base has grown significantly: as people shelter at home, games are one of the main sources of affordable and accessible entertainment. Games are also becoming one of the most powerful communication channels on a global level. That is why we think it is our responsibility to join this global movement and help the World Health Organization spread important health messages. In addition to safety measures during a pandemic, we will share other messages that we hope will encourage and support people around the world.”
Gismart hopes that the fun and social connections that come with playing games will provide an incentive to people staying indoors and reduce the risk of spreading. With the help of their players, Gismart, their industry peers and the WHO hope to help spread awareness and promote change at such a pivotal time like this, with the simple message – play games, save the world. The #PlayApartTogether messages are available in Gismart’s games now, and the free Music Zen app is available to download in the app stores.
