Ever since the Guinness World Records committee began keeping track of video game records, there has been some really odd attempts at breaking records that nobody even thought about before. This is one of those records.
Trion Worlds, publisher and developer of the MMORPG Rift, held a world record attempt on Valentine’s Day to host the highest number of in-game marriages in a 24-hour period. They broke the world record, mostly due to no competition, but still managed an impressive 21,879 marriages.
Guinness World Records will consider the achievement for inclusion in the 2013 edition of the Guinness World Records Gamer’s Edition. Those who participated in the massive matrimony event will be awarded with the in-game titled “The Avowed.”
“Establishing this record was a monumental achievement for our development team and community of passionate players, and I couldn’t be more proud,” said Scott Hartsman, Executive Producer on Rift and Trion’s CCO. “Ascended Weddings were a great way to lift the veil on Rift’s new ‘Gatherings’ feature, social experiences that bring players together in new and interesting ways. We look forward to expanding this great new gameplay element in the always-evolving world of Telara.”
Gaz Deaves, the gaming editor for Guiness World Records, seems to be impressed by the virtual marriages:
“It’s great to see the seeds of love blooming in virtual worlds, and particularly impressive to see so many gamers getting together to say their vows for one event like this. The evidence submitted was of a very high standard and we even witnessed some of the ceremonies ourselves, so this achievement will definitely be considered for the next Guinness World Records Gamer’s Edition.”
Rift introduced the in-game marriage feature with the latest expansion, “Carnival of the Ascended.” Rift has impressively hit more than one million activations since its launch in March 2011 and has broke $100 million in revenue in under a year.
For those who want to try out this in-game marriage thing for yourselves, potential players can try out Rift Lite which lets players enjoy the game for free with no restrictions up to level 20.
After all of this, there needs to be a MMORPG that shoots for the highest number of in-game divorces in one day. They already cause a number of divorces in real life, so doing it in a video game should be a cinch.