The glory days of gross-out online game PR stunts are lengthy behind us, sadly. If and once we do get a Resident Evil 6 remake, it’s unlikely Capcom will serve it with a facet of human-flavored sausages. PlayStation doesn’t even maintain ocean-hopping vacation spot press occasions anymore, by no means thoughts ones the place they will sacrifice a live animal for tech bloggers. Although our biggest retches are within the rearview, the PR machine can nonetheless churn out some nasties right here and there. The largest shock is once they show to be all sensible.
Over at Aftermath, journalist Nathan Grayson has been bothered by a blood-fueled gaming PC since Blizzard gave it away to advertise Diablo IV in 2023. Apparently utilizing real-deal human plasma for liquid coolant, Grayson tried to shake down PR reps and {hardware} specialists hoping to uncover how a lot blood was in there, whose blood is in there and if such an unholy contraption is in any respect sensible. No cube.
Nevertheless, Grayson did reach monitoring down the unique winner of this infernal machine, a streamer by the title of Storms888. Whereas it didn’t clear up the gross mysteries that bought beneath his pores and skin, Grayson did be taught one thing simply as surprising: the rattling factor nonetheless works. Two years later the rig continues pumping its blood.
“I haven’t seen any drops in efficiency because the day I bought it,” Storms888 tells Grayson. “Did leak a ton although.”
The streamer says that he believes the liquid coolant to be a cocktail of human blood and extra standard components. However there may be some quantity of blood. Blizzard despatched him substitute vials and documentational slips confirming the crimson stuff got here from human donors. Storms888 stated it’s an unbelievable rig for his functions, which embody livestreaming “Battlefield 6 at extremely settings.” And with RAM costs via the roof, who can blame him for not upgrading.
That is hardly the primary time the deep crimson stuff has been utilized in a promotional stunt, nor the primary time it was batched to perform it. In 1977, Marvel comics blended their ink with blood donated from every member of KISS for his or her humorous guide debut. Lil Nas X did the identical, drawing blood for a custom pair of Nike’s to advertise 2021’s Montero. Blood, it seems, is in you to present.
If Blizzard, Activision or Microsoft had been to drag this stunt once more, or cram some other physique components into giveaway {hardware}, it wouldn’t even make the record of probably the most nauseating issues to return out of them in latest historical past.
Storms888 stays happy by his helpful, sensible, even, gross-out present. You possibly can learn Nathan Grayson’s full interview with the ichor-powered gamer on Aftermath.
