The Player Profiles
The Player Profiles: Turning up the heat with Challengers.
We’ve met the Socializers, the Achievers, and the Explorers. Now it’s time for the rarest player type of all: the Challengers.
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Introducing: the Challengers.
They might represent less than 1% of your audience, but underestimate them at your peril.
Because when you give them the right environment—one built on rivalry, stakes, and status—they’ll turn your campaign into a battleground.
Who are they?
Challengers are the rivalry rebels.
The ones who don’t just want to win—they want to beat someone.
In Richard Bartle’s original typology, they were called “Killers”—players who thrive in zero-sum games, where someone else’s loss is part of the thrill.
They crave direct competition, visible stakes, and a shot at total domination.
They’re not interested in participation trophies. They want the arena—and they want to own it.
RED BULL: SETTLE THE SCORE X RED BULL: SETTLE THE SCORE X RED BULL: SETTLE THE SCORE X RED BULL: SETTLE THE SCORE X RED BULL: SETTLE THE SCORE X RED BULL: SETTLE THE SCORE X RED BULL: SETTLE THE SCORE X RED BULL: SETTLE THE SCORE X RED BULL: SETTLE THE SCORE X RED BULL: SETTLE THE SCORE X RED BULL: SETTLE THE SCORE X RED BULL: SETTLE THE SCORE X RED BULL: SETTLE THE SCORE X RED BULL: SETTLE THE SCORE X RED BULL: SETTLE THE SCORE X RED BULL: SETTLE THE SCORE X RED BULL: SETTLE THE SCORE X RED BULL: SETTLE THE SCORE X RED BULL: SETTLE THE SCORE X RED BULL: SETTLE THE SCORE X RED BULL: SETTLE THE SCORE X RED BULL: SETTLE THE SCORE X RED BULL: SETTLE THE SCORE X RED BULL: SETTLE THE SCORE X RED BULL: SETTLE THE SCORE X RED BULL: SETTLE THE SCORE X RED BULL: SETTLE THE SCORE X RED BULL: SETTLE THE SCORE X RED BULL: SETTLE THE SCORE X RED BULL: SETTLE THE SCORE X RED BULL: SETTLE THE SCORE X RED BULL: SETTLE THE SCORE X RED BULL: SETTLE THE SCORE X RED BULL: SETTLE THE SCORE X RED BULL: SETTLE THE SCORE X RED BULL: SETTLE THE SCORE X RED BULL: SETTLE THE SCORE X RED BULL: SETTLE THE SCORE X RED BULL: SETTLE THE SCORE X RED BULL: SETTLE THE SCORE X RED BULL: SETTLE THE SCORE X RED BULL: SETTLE THE SCORE X RED BULL: SETTLE THE SCORE X RED BULL: SETTLE THE SCORE X RED BULL: SETTLE THE SCORE X RED BULL: SETTLE THE SCORE X RED BULL: SETTLE THE SCORE X RED BULL: SETTLE THE SCORE X RED BULL: SETTLE THE SCORE X RED BULL: SETTLE THE SCORE X RED BULL: SETTLE THE SCORE X RED BULL: SETTLE THE SCORE X RED BULL: SETTLE THE SCORE X RED BULL: SETTLE THE SCORE X RED BULL: SETTLE THE SCORE X RED BULL: SETTLE THE SCORE X RED BULL: SETTLE THE SCORE X RED BULL: SETTLE THE SCORE X RED BULL: SETTLE THE SCORE X RED BULL: SETTLE THE SCORE X
Case in point: Red Bull’s Settle the Score.
This wasn’t a campaign.
It was a 24/7 warzone of competition.
We split the audience into two streamer-led factions, each fighting for dominance across Twitch, physical cities, and digital channels.
Missions triggered in real time. IRL challenges unfolded via a physical LED cube named Cubert, pulsing on the streamers’ desks and setting off new objectives.
A constantly updating leaderboard kept the pressure on.
Fans weren’t just watching...
they were fighting.
Every challenge completed, every mission won, every Red Bull can found was another strike against the other side. And Challengers? They didn’t just play—they hunted, conquered, and claimed glory.
FOOTBALL MANAGER THE EVERYDAY TACTICIAN X FOOTBALL MANAGER X FOOTBALL MANAGER THE EVERYDAY TACTICIAN X FOOTBALL MANAGER X FOOTBALL MANAGER THE EVERYDAY TACTICIAN X FOOTBALL MANAGER X FOOTBALL MANAGER THE EVERYDAY TACTICIAN X FOOTBALL MANAGER X FOOTBALL MANAGER THE EVERYDAY TACTICIAN X FOOTBALL MANAGER X FOOTBALL MANAGER THE EVERYDAY TACTICIAN X FOOTBALL MANAGER X FOOTBALL MANAGER THE EVERYDAY TACTICIAN X FOOTBALL MANAGER X FOOTBALL MANAGER THE EVERYDAY TACTICIAN X FOOTBALL MANAGER X FOOTBALL MANAGER THE EVERYDAY TACTICIAN X FOOTBALL MANAGER X FOOTBALL MANAGER THE EVERYDAY TACTICIAN X FOOTBALL MANAGER X FOOTBALL MANAGER THE EVERYDAY TACTICIAN X FOOTBALL MANAGER X FOOTBALL MANAGER THE EVERYDAY TACTICIAN X FOOTBALL MANAGER X FOOTBALL MANAGER THE EVERYDAY TACTICIAN X FOOTBALL MANAGER X FOOTBALL MANAGER THE EVERYDAY TACTICIAN X FOOTBALL MANAGER X FOOTBALL MANAGER THE EVERYDAY TACTICIAN X FOOTBALL MANAGER X FOOTBALL MANAGER THE EVERYDAY TACTICIAN X FOOTBALL MANAGER X FOOTBALL MANAGER THE EVERYDAY TACTICIAN X FOOTBALL MANAGER X FOOTBALL MANAGER THE EVERYDAY TACTICIAN X FOOTBALL MANAGER X FOOTBALL MANAGER THE EVERYDAY TACTICIAN X FOOTBALL MANAGER X FOOTBALL MANAGER THE EVERYDAY TACTICIAN X FOOTBALL MANAGER X
Another example? Football Manager’s The Everyday Tactician.
This one blurred the line between fantasy and reality.
To launch Football Manager on Xbox, SEGA and McCann London gave players more than bragging rights. They gave them a shot at a real job: managing a professional football club.
That’s right.
One player. One shot. One real-world coaching role with Bromley FC, a gritty underdog club in England’s National League.
The result?
The hired gamer led Bromley to its best season since 1892. The campaign swept awards—including a Cannes Lions Grand Prix—and delivered:
—1.5 billion impressions
—A 190% spike in player base.
But most importantly? It turned a game into a proving ground.
For Challengers, this was a dream scenario: one clear rival. One shot to win. Real consequences. And public recognition.
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The bottom line?
Challengers don’t want experiences.
They want arenas—spaces where only one can come out on top.
Give them real stakes, real-time mechanics, and visible outcomes, and they’ll go all in. They’ll grind. They’ll fight. And they’ll turn your campaign into a leaderboard moment that lives on.
Because when a Challenger engages…They don’t just play. They compete to conquer.
Next up? The final chapter in our player profile series: a full breakdown of why designing with player psychology in mind isn’t just smart—it’s a long-game strategy for engagement that actually sticks.