The trend of big studios promoting high-profile games with mobile tie-ins continues, as both Naughty Dog and Gearbox have launched tentpole games this week alongside complementary mobile games with significantly different designs.
While this is not a new marketing strategy for the industry at large, it's interesting to note that the trend is becoming commonplace and that both of these new mobile games -- Uncharted: Fortune Hunter and Battleborn Tap -- permit players to unlock rewards (character outfits, weapon skins and the like) in their corresponding console games, Uncharted 4 and Battleborn.
Each mobile game features known characters from its console counterpart, but differs significantly in terms of design: Fortune Hunter is a puzzle game, for example, while Battleborn Tap is chiefly concerned with getting players to tap the screen a lot.
Bethesda saw significant success with this strategy late last year, when it released the Fallout Shelter mobile management game in an effort to drum up hype for the impending retail release of the open-world RPG Fallout 4, The mobile game became an unexpected success -- even though playing Shelter granted Fallout 4 players no additional perks or unlockable rewards.