Players Flood Pizza Shops for Digital Rewards
Fans of the brutally gory fighting game Invincible Vs are ordering New York-style pizzas they have no intention of eating, just to score a limited-time in-game cosmetic. The promotion, run in partnership with a regional pizza chain, has triggered a wave of orders from players outside the delivery area—who pay full price for a pie they immediately throw away.
“It’s absolutely absurd, but players see this skin as a status symbol,” said gaming analyst Laura Chen of GameTrends. “They’ll spend $20 on a pizza they never touch rather than miss out.”
How the Promotion Works
The deal requires customers to purchase a large specialty pizza from participating New York locations and enter a unique code from the box into the game. Each code unlocks a single-use, blood-splattered costume for the character Omni-Brawler, one of the rarest items in Invincible Vs.
“We’ve had people from Florida order three pizzas to our Brooklyn shop and ask us to just email the codes,” said Tony Marchetti, owner of Marchetti’s Pizzeria in Queens. “They never pick up the food. It’s pure waste.”
Background
Invincible Vs, developed by Riot Force Studios, is a hyper-violent arena fighter known for its gruesome fatalities and over-the-top customization options. The “Pizza Massacre” skin was announced two weeks ago as a limited-time collaboration with Big Slice NY, a 50-location chain based in the tri-state area.
The promotion was originally intended to drive local foot traffic, but viral social media posts quickly spread the code-sharing loophole. Within days, thousands of out-of-state gamers began placing delivery orders with instructions to discard the pizza.
Scale of the Phenomenon
Data scraped from order forums suggests at least 12,000 surplus pizzas have been ordered since the promotion launched. That’s roughly 6,000 pounds of dough, cheese, and sauce that end up in the trash—not counting the cardboard boxes.
“We could feed a small city with what’s being wasted,” said food sustainability researcher Dr. Anita Verma of NYU. “But the gaming community’s obsession with limited items overrides any environmental concern.”
What This Means
The stunt underscores how far players will go for digital exclusivity, even creating physical waste and financial loss. It also highlights a growing trend of real-world tie-ins that exploit fear of missing out (FOMO) to boost sales.
“This isn’t about pizza—it’s about digital scarcity,” said Chen. “Game studios and brands are realizing they can sell anything if they attach a rare cosmetic.”
For the pizza chain, the campaign backfired as a marketing move. “We gained attention but also a reputation for encouraging waste,” said a Big Slice NY spokesperson. “We’re reviewing future partnerships.”
Meanwhile, players are already looking for the next promo. Some have started online petitions for a nationwide pizza delivery option to reduce waste—and get their skin without the guilt.