Super Bowl KFC promotion generated 1m downloads for Backbreaker game

NaturalMotion says taking its Tackle Alley game free gave it a seven-figure boost.

UK publisher NaturalMotion Games says its Backbreaker: Tackle alley game was downloaded more than one million times over Super Bowl XLV weekend earlier this year, thanks to a sponsorship deal with KFC.

The deal saw the game made free for a short period of time. NaturalMotion says that the seven-figure free downloads had a direct impact on the company's finances, doubling subsequent sales of the game, while tripling the sales of separate game Backbreaker 2: Vengeance through cross-promotion.

"We're thrilled by the user numbers we've been able to drive during the Super Bowl weekend," says CEO Torsten Reil. "It's a testament to the reach of Apple's App Store, and an eye opener for how quickly we can generate millions of impressions for global brands on the App Store."

Total downloads for the Backbreaker games have now passed five million, according to Reil. The games are developed by UK firm Ideaworks Game Studio, using the Airplay SDK of sister company Ideaworks Labs.

Ideaworks Labs CEO Niall Murphy has also hailed Backbreaker's performance. "It's great to see the huge excitement that the Ideaworks-developed Backbreaker titles continue to draw. It is strong proof of Airplay SDK's capabilities in developing high-performance games and the importance of giving people the ability to enjoy their favourite games on multiplatforms."