The brief

As part of the most awarded campaign in history and as a follow up to one of the most successful games on the App Store, Metro Trains tasked Millipede with bringing the next chapter of Dumb Ways to Die and its characters to life… and death.

Dumb Ways to Die 2: The Games sees the next generation of dumb hopefuls storming the sporting world, where they partake in properly dangerous games to impress the heroes of the original series. Players travel by train around a map with a distinctly Melbourne feel, navigating games focused on train safety. Once they arrive at their destination ‐ one of several themed sporting arenas – players play through a series of mini-games with unexpected outcomes.

The result

The game launched in November 2014 with four sporting arenas and 28 mini-games, including a seriously angry penguin playing ice hockey, a 100 metre sprint with scissors and a dolphin rodeo.

In recognition of the diverse appeal of the franchise, Dumb Ways to Die 2: The Games contains a pioneering feature called Kids’ Mode, that removes all advertising and micro-transactions, and creates a kids-only leaderboard.

In its first week of release, Dumb Ways to Die 2: The Games rocketed up the US App Store charts, bumping Facebook Messenger, Candy Crush Soda Saga and Apple iMovie to claim the top spot.

To date, Dumb Ways to Die 2: The Games has charted at Number 1 in 86 countries, and boasts more than 100 million downloads across five platforms.

Pitch perfect

Dumb Ways is a brand built on surprisingly nuanced humour. Game design, creative empathy, animation and character design work together to create a uniquely charming experience, one that is accessible to and beloved by everyone.

In many hands this combination of deep conceptual understanding and joyful creative expression is simply impossible to execute. At Millipede, this is our specialty ‐ we get it because we love it.