[Chinajoy 26] There is a 'McDonald's' booth at ChinaJoy

[Chinajoy 26] 차이나조이에는 '맥도날드' 부스가 있습니다

gamemeca • Lyu Jong Hwa 게임메카 류종화 기자 2026.08.01 00:06 UTC+9

AI Summary

ChinaJoy featured a bizarre official booth from McDonald's. The display showcased giant food props and process art instead of actual meals. It was a surreal marketing experiment amidst the gaming festivities.

When we talk about game shows, the games themselves are usually the main event. It is a full-scale deployment of publishers, platform holders, hardware manufacturers, and the endless stream of software, marketing, and data analytics firms that prop up the industry. Sometimes, the scope widens to include IP-focused content creators, or even companies peddling gaming-branded chairs and desks. Occasionally, food brands muscle in, eager to push energy drinks or 'gaming fuel' on the masses.

However, this year's ChinaJoy featured a guest that frankly caught us off guard. Yes, McDonald's—that global fast-food titan—decamped with an official booth to greet gamers. ChinaJoy has a reputation for being a broad church, but seeing the Golden Arches on the show floor was a fever dream we did not expect. Let's take a look at what they were actually cooking up.

▲ Browsing the ChinaJoy B2C exhibition floor, a familiar logo catches the eye (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ I was parched and starving, so this looked like a stroke of luck (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ It looks exactly like a McDonald's pop-up stall at a glance (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ In reality, it was purely a promotional booth for the brand (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ In the centre of the stall, a giant McWing is mid-dip into a sauce (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ The sauce is artfully arranged into a crown shape (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ A cosplayer stops for a photo in front of the monument (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ The walls are adorned with mysterious hands, which apparently represent the process of coating, shaking, and sifting ingredients for the McChicken (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ The rest of the booth is fitted with standard-issue McDonald's tables and chairs (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ There is even a mirror shaped like a chicken wing (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ For a split second, I thought this McChicken box was a serving of Tteokbokki (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ A bit disappointed that there was nothing to eat, but wait—is that a counter handing out freebies? (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ Oh, are they giving out fries? (My excitement was palpable) (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ It was, in fact, not fries (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ Regardless, the McDonald's booth stood as a refreshingly surreal sight in the heart of the game show (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

게임쇼라고 하면 보통 게임이 주인공입니다. 게임사, 서비스사, 플랫폼사를 비롯해 게임과 관련된 하드웨어, 소프트웨어, 홍보 마케팅, 데이터 분석, 각종 기반기술 업체들이 총출동하죠. 거기서 좀 더 나아가 IP를 내세운 콘텐츠 기업이나 의자, 책상 등의 가구들도 게이밍을 앞세워 들어옵니다. 그리고 가끔 식품 기업들이 나오기도 합니다. 에너지음료나 게이밍 먹거리 등을 홍보하고 알리기 위함이죠.

그런데, 올해 차이나조이에선 정말 상상치도 못한 기업이 무려 정식 부스를 내고 게이머들을 맞이했습니다. 바로 맥도날드입니다. 전세계적으로 퍼져 있는 그 패스트푸드 기업 맞습니다. 차이나조이가 원래 게임 뿐 아니라 다양한 분야를 포괄하기로 유명하긴 하지만, 맥도날드 부스가 나올 줄은 꿈에도 몰랐습니다. 과연 어떤 모습일지 함께 보시죠.