Sony films new PlayStation commercial in Kyiv

In a new commercial for the home video game console PlayStation, Japanese technology company Sony brings its fictional characters to the Olympic Stadium in Kyiv.

The 30-second advertisement clip was filmed by the Ukrainian production company Radioaktive Film, previously known for working with Apple, Nike and Lenovo.

Sony first aired its commercial on Oct. 19 during a UEFA Champions League football match. PlayStation published the video on its YouTube channel on Nov. 2.

Titled “Play Has No Limits,” the ad portrays famous characters from Sony’s video games helping out on the field as a football match is happening. Gamers can spot Spartan warrior Kratos from “God of War,” Nathan Drake from “Uncharted,” hunter Aloy from “Horizon” and Ratchet and Clank from the eponymous game, who emerge from a dimensional rift on the pitch to rescue the injured football player.

Radioaktive Film shot the commercial in May, just before the pitch at the Olympic Stadium was renovated, Katya Halytska, the executive producer of the firm, told the Village Ukraine online media.

Olympic Stadium is Ukraine’s biggest sports arena located in downtown Kyiv.

The most difficult part of the shooting was to find a tall actor who could play massive warrior Kratos, Halytska said.

PlayStation has been UEFA’s sponsor for 24 years, having its ads placed at stadiums and commercials run on TV between matches.

In Ukraine, PlayStation is a well-recognized brand as the country’s largest electronic retailers such as Citrus, Foxtrot, Comfy and Rozetka sell its video games and consoles.

However, Ukrainians had hard times laying their hands on the new PlayStation 5.

Official dealers in Ukraine sell PS5 for nearly $1,000, compared to $500-600 in the U.K. or the U.S., so many Ukrainians can only afford to buy it from illegal resellers that charge less.

Even those who could afford PS5, had to hunt for the console as there were supply interruptions.

Since the PS5 release in July, Sony sold 13.4 million of them. However, the supply is still not enough to reach the unexpectedly high demand, which Sony can’t satisfy due to production issues because of the global microchip shortage.