Travis Scott’s PS5 ‘unboxing’ is a strangely cool short movie

The PlayStation 5 finally launched yesterday, and to accompany the release, rapper Travis Scott made an epic 10-minute video celebrating the new console. The video, “A Travis Scott + Cactus Jack Experience – PS5: Unboxing Reimagined,” doesn’t actually feature an unboxing at all — it’s something more like a short film.

Unsurprisingly, there’s a decent amount of gameplay footage, showing off Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, Astro’s Playroom, Horizon Forbidden West, and more. But all of that is in the first few minutes, after which the video goes beyond just being a sizzle reel of games.

Scott, for some reason, plays a PS5 on an enormous TV in the middle of a desert. Later, he personally gifts PS5s to two lucky kids from a PS5-themed van in a parking lot. Then, the video cuts to a musical performance by James Blake. After that, there’s a tribute to Pop Smoke, a rapper who died in February. The whole video is unlike any console marketing I’ve ever seen.

In addition to the video, Scott has released a whole PlayStation-themed merch line. And you can enter to win some good-looking Nikes that even have the PlayStation text logo printed on one of the soles. But entries for that contest close today, so you’ll want to enter soon if you want a chance to score them.

Image: shop.travisscott.com

Image: shop.travisscott.com

Sony announced that Scott “has joined the PlayStation family as a strategic creative partner” in October, an announcement that was accompanied by a short, artistic film of its own. I think both today’s video and his first for PlayStation were great, and I really hope he makes more of them.

Scott’s work with Sony isn’t his first with video games — he had a surreal and spectacular in-game concert in Fortnite earlier this year. It was a huge hit, with more than 12 million people attending the first performance, which broke Fortnite’s previous live event attendance record held by 2019’s Marshmello concert.

And Scott’s PlayStation videos aren’t his only weird twists on corporate promotions. I’d also like to remind you that he made a McDonald’s commercial where an action figure of himself narrates his go-to McDonald’s order. I’ve seen the ad dozens of times now, and I actually still find it to be pretty charming.