Poppy is entering the gaming world with Poppy Secret Run, a new interactive musical experience created in collaboration with Paris-based creative technology studio SoWhen?, launching exclusively in Fortnite on 23rd October. Available for a limited time until 23 November, the experience invites fans to step inside the singer’s surreal universe, combining music, exploration and player-driven choices in an immersive journey built around her song Time Will Tell.
Poppy
The project offers a new way to experience Poppy’s distinctive artistic world, extending her creative vision beyond the traditional music video or live performance. Players will navigate a dreamlike landscape shaped by clocks, shifting environments and unexpected discoveries, with the choices they make determining how their journey unfolds.
Playable solo or in groups of up to four, Poppy Secret Run centres on a decision between two paths: Light and Dark. Two versions of Poppy guide players through the experience, accompanied by her real-life sphynx cat, Pi. As players progress, their decisions influence the world around them, revealing different routes and outcomes.
At the heart of the experience is a performance of Time Will Tell, reimagined as an interactive musical journey. Rather than simply watching a performance unfold, players move through a world designed around the song, with the action and visual environment synchronised to its rhythm.
The project began taking shape in March 2026, when Poppy travelled to Paris to record a full motion-capture performance with SoWhen?. Performing Time Will Tell live in the studio, she provided the foundation for a bespoke digital world built around her movements and stage presence.
Using markerless motion-capture techniques and OptiTrack technology, the team captured her facial expressions, movements and lip movements without requiring a conventional suit covered in tracking markers. The resulting performance was then integrated into the gameplay, allowing individual movements, flips and collapses to land in time with the music.
The process aims to preserve the physical energy and character of Poppy’s performance while translating it into an interactive environment. By connecting the music directly to the gameplay, Poppy Secret Run brings together elements of a live show, a music video and a playable digital world.
There is more to discover beyond the main experience. Players will be able to access a performance-only mode, allowing them to enjoy the show without completing the game. Hidden behind locked doors are exclusive stories from Poppy, rewarding those who return to explore further. Additional surprises and content are also planned throughout the experience’s month-long availability.
For Poppy, the collaboration represents another extension of an artistic career that regularly moves between music, performance and experimental visual concepts. A two-time Grammy-nominated singer and performance artist, she has established a distinctive identity through her willingness to explore unconventional approaches to pop and alternative music. Poppy Secret Run takes that spirit into an interactive format, placing audiences inside a world that responds to their decisions rather than presenting a fixed narrative.
The experience is developed with SoWhen?, a creative technology company founded in Paris in 2010 by Freddy Koné and Mohamed Marouene. The studio works at the intersection of entertainment, art and technology, creating immersive experiences ranging from virtual concerts to playable musical environments within Fortnite.
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Its previous projects include collaborations with Jean-Michel Jarre on three live virtual concerts, as well as immersive experiences with The Walt Disney Company. Within Fortnite, the studio has also worked on the Turbo Killer Experience with Carpenter Brut and ARTE Riff Mountain, the first Fortnite island from ARTE. SoWhen? is an Epic Games Unreal Engine Gold Service Partner.
The launch also arrives as Poppy continues to bring the music of her album Empty Hands to audiences through a selection of international festival appearances. With Poppy Secret Run, she is extending that relationship with fans into a different kind of performance space, where music, technology and player interaction combine to create an experience that can change with every decision.
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