For many gamers, the delight they get from playing video games is a reward in itself. But for the lucky few who heeded Alodia Gosiengfiao’s call to look for McDonald’s look-alike food items in games, the prize was more tangible—and more exciting!
Just this weekend, the Philippines’ OG gaming influencer asked her over 8M Facebook followers to share screenshots of video game food articles that look like McDo menu items in the comment section of her post. This call came just a few days after she shared a photo of a BigMac look-alike in the open-world game Grand Theft Auto V.
Her original post, which was noticed by the official Facebook page of McDo, inspired fellow streamers and gamers to look for similar video game look-alikes. Those with the most exciting finds got delicious freebies from McDo.
For her latest scavenger hunt challenge, Alodia gave two lucky followers even more exciting prizes—a gaming chair and a PlayStation 5 gaming console. The winners were announced during her Facebook live stream on December 4, where Alodia played the massive futuristic game Cyberpunk 2077 to look for more McDonald’s food-alikes.
Gamer Braun T. won a gaming chair after sharing a screenshot from the online game platform Roblox that showed an item that resembles a McDo Cheeseburger. Meanwhile, Crizel S. won the much-coveted PS5 for her screenshot of the cooking simulation game Burger Making 2, which also shows items that look like the iconic McDo Cheeseburger.
Alodia’s giveaway post garnered over 2,000 comments, with many netizens and gamers sharing their own McDonald’s video game food-alike discoveries. And their finds are varied and diverse, proof that the menu items from the fast-food chain are indeed present in video games new and old—from Cheeseburger with Fries meal look-alikes in Watch Dogs to the Big Mac in the Japanese role-playing game Persona 5.
Following Alodia’s lead, streamers Dexie Diaz and Ann B. Mateo also gave away prizes for their followers who joined the McDonald’s virtual food hunt during their Facebook live streams.
Lyka B., one of Dexie’s followers, won a Nintendo Switch with her heartfelt comment and screenshot from the simulation game Toca Life.
“I remade McDonald’s in my fave game Toca Life. I saw the food and it reminded me of McDonald’s, so I was inspired to make the restaurant! The fries look like McDo’s famous fries, the burger looks like the fresh and tasty McDo burger, and the spaghetti reminds me of the sweet spaghetti I always order in my local McDonald’s. I always get here with my family so I put a happy family! I know that #ThisIsMcDonalds,” Lyka wrote.
“Seeing your screengrabs make me so happy! Grabe effort natin kaya napansin tayo!” Dexie wrote in her Facebook post.
Ann meanwhile gave a gaming chair to follower Theird Q. who shared a screenshot of a McDo video game from a gaming website.
“Pinagaagawan talaga ang Quarter Pounder kahit sa video game” she quipped during her stream.
Dexie’s and Ann’s posts garnered hundreds of comments with McDonald’s food-alikes, some of which were rewarded with treats and freebies from McDo’s official Facebook page.
Michael V., a famous actor and a known gamer himself, was also inspired by the McDonald’s food-alikes being shared on social media. In a video posted on his official Facebook page, the renowned performer showed a mock poster from the PlayStation 5 game Guardians of the Galaxy that presents a burger meal and a logo clearly inspired by McDo. “McDonald’s ito, o!” he said.
Following his video post, Michael V. asked his followers to post their screengrabs of McDo-like food items. The result: unique shots that prove the expansive presence of McDo in video games, with finds in the remastered version of Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch, Genshin Impact, various installments of Grand Theft Auto, and Resident Evil, among others.
Michael V. received many interesting posts from his followers, with whom he engaged enthusiastically.
With these developments, many gamers now believe that McDonald’s responses to the scavenger hunt finds are sure indications that McDo-like food items have been hiding in plain sight in games all along.
In your gaming, have you spotted one lately?