WendyQuest: Wendy’s Marketing Strategy to Beat McDonald’s

On November 5, Wendy's released their own video game called: Wendy's Quest: Legends of the Four Corner Stones. This game takes a hit at McDonald's as players are asked to defeat bosses like Golden Archers. It's an 8-bit role-playing game where players can unlock free food in the Wendy's app.

Sir Chicken hits Mech Chicken with Nugget Strike in WendyQuest, Wendy’s new 8-bit game. (Courtesy of Wendy’s)

The game is free on iOS, Android and Steam. It offers up to 10 hours of gameplay. Wendy’s says it was built by hand over several years, with no AI shortcuts. The Studio 81Monkey's built it and Agency VML handled the creatives.

The jabs towards McDonald's were not subtle as players battle mech's and are required to defeat bosses like Mech Chicken (taking a hit at McDonald's McChicken).

Players can earn real food. Prizes include a free medium fry, small Frosty, 10 piece nuggets, a biscuit or croissant, or a Dave’s Single. To redeem, players must copy a promo code from the game’s inventory and paste it into the offers section of the Wendy’s app.

Wendy's is attempting to target the gaming community with the game's launch. This launch can help Wendy capture stronger engagement as advertisements through games become a saturated market. A marketing trend companies are adapting to is spending on in-game ads because they're expected to top $131 billion in 2026 and it's expected to reach $217 in 2031.

Despite the saturated market for in-game advertising, the audience is just as big. It was noted that two-thirds of Americans aged 5 and 90 play video games for one hour a week (according to the 2026 Entertainment Software Association). With this, Wendy decided to build it's own space.

Advertising through video games is not a new concept for the food industry. For example, Chilli's launched a video game that called out fast food companies for increasing their prices during this economic depression. In addition, Panda Express has an always-on gaming strategy, and e.l.f. Cosmetics returned to an avatar-based gaming platform. Wendy’s has its own history too. It released a tabletop game, Feast of Legends, in 2019, and it appeared in Fortnite’s Food Fight game mode. What makes WendyQuest different is that it’s Wendy’s first fully owned game.

The timing matters too. Wendy’s is in the middle of a turnaround plan after ongoing challenges with traffic and sales growth. In its third quarter, U.S. same-restaurant sales dropped 5.7%, while international same-restaurant sales rose 2.2%. In August, Wendy’s also hired ex-McDonald’s CMO Tariq Hassan to lead marketing and customer growth. A game won’t fix sales on its own, but it shows what a more distinctive brand looks like.

My take: as a consumer, I don’t care about watching ads. Most of the time I skip them, scroll past them, or tune them out. Wendy’s has the money, so I expect them to go all out, and a game does that. It asks for my time, but it gives me something back. If a brand wants my attention, it should earn it instead of interrupting what I’m already doing.

I love that they designed a name that sounds like a real game and not an ad.

“WendyQuest” has the feel of something you’d find on Steam, and that matters. People download games to play, not because a brand asked them to. It’s also a different approach from other fast food brands, which mostly buy ads or sponsor existing games. Chili’s used a game to make a point, but Wendy’s built a full adventure with bosses, regions and hours of gameplay. That’s a unique idea.

The no-AI choice adds to it for me. Wendy’s says it was built by hand over several years, and that effort shows the brand cared about the experience. As a consumer, that makes me trust it more. It feels like a gift to players, not a pitch. As students, we like to use AI for assignments but we don’t appreciate our favourite companies using it and it’s refreshing to see that they understand this.

My Vision: Wendy Quest Season 2

I made a short video to show what I’d do next with WendyQuest. It’s my own concept, not an official Wendy’s ad.

Wendy’s built the game by hand, with no AI shortcuts. I used AI to imagine where it could go. In my version, a new boss shows up each season, and players win rewards right inside the game. No promo code, no switching apps.

Why make a video instead of just writing about it? Because this post is about what a brand can do when it stops interrupting people and starts giving them something to enjoy. I wanted to show that, not just say it.

Watch it below and tell me what you’d change. Would you play a game like this?