Kao Corporation, a leading Japanese home care brand widely recognized for making everyday cleaning a part of Japanese life, created their first 3D exploration-style horror action and cleaning simulation game, “Silent Cleaning,” with our team. We created the concept, design, and full development of the game, transforming familiar household chores into immersive horror gameplay that resonates with Japanese cultural familiarity while surprising players with its creative twist.
To address two challenges—reaching younger audiences who are less responsive to TV commercials, and generating buzz around the theme of “cleaning,” which rarely trends on social media—we proposed a unique approach: a full-scale 3D horror game targeting passionate game-streaming communities.
Developed in Unity with 3DCG, the game fully integrates cleaning into the gameplay, faithfully recreating the real-world feel and sounds of the products. The game was released for free on Steam, and streaming was allowed without permission, maximizing its potential for organic reach.
On release day, the game trended #1 on X (formerly Twitter), #1 on LINE NEWS, and topped the Steam Free Game ranking. Mega-influencers with millions of subscribers streamed the game organically, reaching an estimated tens of millions of viewers and boosting top-of-mind recall of “Kao = cleaning” among younger audiences.
Many streamers even read the product descriptions in a playful, home-shopping style, which led to numerous actual product purchases. Some of the featured products saw their sales double, and the campaign also inspired a noticeable positive shift in people’s attitudes toward cleaning.
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