P25 Music • Virtual Concert

To help celebrate the 25th anniversary of Pokémon, the world’s highest-grossing media franchise, we partnered together with director Jason Zada, MediaCom and The Pokémon Company International to develop the next evolution in at-home musical experiences: a virtual Post Malone concert that placed the artist—and the audience—directly within the immersive world of Pokémon, powered by real-time rendering technology.

The completely computer-generated concert took viewers along for a 13-minute musical tour across eight visually distinct locales, each populated by fantastically rendered and animated Pokémon. Turning childhood dreams into reality, we brought the experience to life from first sketches to pixels and polygons, livestreamed on YouTube and Twitch to over 10 million fans around the world.

Throughout the performance, viewers were transported to a series of scenes rendered in exquisite detail and brought to life through the creatures that populate them—all within a game engine. By watching Pokémon characters engage with one another in their natural habitats (or just vibing to the music), fans were given the chance to catch sight of some of their favorite characters like never before.

But for many in the audience, a main draw of the event was Post Malone himself. We designed and produced the singer’s avatar to capture his distinct look while remaining consistent to the aesthetic of Pokémon. Through the use of motion capture, Post Malone’s every movement translated effortlessly onto the screen through real-time animation, allowing for a true performance within the fantastical setting—including facial tracking that offered crucial fidelity for lip synching.

As the first in a yearlong series of musical events celebrating Pokémon, it was important that this one set a high bar to draw interest in subsequent performances. News leading up to the show caught the attention of both Billboard and Rolling Stone.

For passionate Pokémon fans who grew up following the franchise, we wanted to do it justice. By casting longtime Pokémon and Post Malone fans of our own to bring the experience to life, we successfully created an experience that entertained diehard fans and casual listeners alike.