Coinbase's 'Your Way Out' films a PS1-style game in real life — Cannes Film Craft GP

During the 98th Academy Awards in March 2026, Coinbase aired 'Your Way Out', a film that drops viewers into a low-resolution, PS1-era video game world. A background character — an NPC on a looping commute — slowly realizes he is trapped in a simulation and breaks out into a real, high-definition world.

The twist was that almost none of it was computer graphics. Director Oscar Hudson and agency Isle of Any shot it practically: actors wore lycra masks printed with their own faces and clothes printed as flat 2D textures, sets were pixelated and framed at an isometric angle, lighting was engineered to be shadowless, and cast and extras rehearsed the stiff, looping walk of game characters.

The idea was that the transition out of the game should be felt rather than seen: as the protagonist gains control, the world slowly gains real-life detail — shadows, texture, human movement. Coinbase framed it as 'Game not over. It's time to take back control', extending the metaphor of escaping a scripted financial system to the audience.

The film won the Film Craft Grand Prix at Cannes Lions 2026. The jury cited the depth and originality of the craft, and the making-of clips — printed costumes, physical sets, shadowless lighting — became part of the campaign's story.