Top 10 REAL Phone Numbers From Video Games

“Dying Light” (2015)

Techland definitely knew what they were doing when they put together “Dying Light’s” AR content. Though fictional, Harran City has had a working phone number from the get-go, found on both the city’s relief effort website and on yellow cabs within the game itself. Calling this number would put you through to an answering machine prompting you to leave a message because they can’t come to the phone – no prizes for guessing why – but this was updated post-release. To promote the game’s final DLC, “The Bozak Horde”, a new message was created inviting players to come to the Stadium on May 26th to be “judged.”

“Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” (1989)

In the era of bad LJN movie tie-ins, a video game of “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” was released on the NES. It would have been largely forgettable was it not for a neat segment where you’re instructed to call Jessica Rabbit herself, and back in the day, you’d hear a message that hints at what you’re supposed to do next. But 1989 was a long time ago, and it won’t come as a surprise to hear that the number doesn’t work anymore – at least, not the way Rare intended. Calling the number today will put you through to a premium-rate, adult hotline that will charge you through the roof and, unfortunately, won’t let you talk to Jessica.

“The Last of Us” (2013)

While wandering zombie-infested Pittsburgh, Joel and Ellie will stumble across a bulletin board with an old ad for a pest control service. However, the two phone numbers both belong, yet again, to premium-rate hotlines. This occurred because Naughty Dog mistakenly believed that all “555” numbers were reserved for use in works of fiction, but this is only true of numbers 555-0100 to 555-0199, meaning that both the numbers in the game were real and nobody thought to check them first. As soon as people started calling to see if there might be an Easter egg at the other end of the line, the game was patched, and the numbers were removed.

“Hotline Miami 2” (2015)

In early 2015, the official twitter account for the “Hotline Miami” series posted just this number and nothing else. The fans who called it reached a message that was more than a little creepy, repeating the word “march” a few times before bluntly declaring that “you have reached the wrong number.” People correctly guessed that this was a cryptic way of announcing that “Hotline Miami 2” would be releasing in March, but it wasn’t the first time the team used this number. A strange message was also left on it to build hype around the release of the first game. At least the answerphone messages don’t order you to kill anybody.

“Saints Row: Gat Out of Hell” (2015)

One of the commercials for “Saints Row: Gat Out of Hell” was styled like an infomercial, including a phone number you could call in the real world. If you did, you were treated to an incredibly elaborate message courtesy of Volition. This message was a whole six minutes long and served as an extended trailer to convince you to pre-order the game. Along with explaining the plot of the upcoming “Gat Out of Hell”, it also claims that “Saints Row IV” is the greatest work of literature of all time and boasts about the quality of the expansion’s original musical numbers. The call handler will even propose if you stick around long enough.

“Fortnite” (2017)

In mid-2018, a real-life Durr Burger mascot appeared in the middle of the California desert. Since “Fortnite” has an especially active fanbase it didn’t take long for people to start investigating this, and along with the giant hamburger, a mysterious man and old-fashioned cop car were also spotted. The stranger was handing out cards with “Agent #3647” and a phone number printed on them. Calling this number lets you listen to the in-game sound effect of an object being pulled into a portal, albeit at a lower quality. This was all part of a tie-in for “Fortnite’s” fifth season, themed around worlds colliding and introducing the desert region Paradise Palms.

“Kentucky Route Zero” (2013)

One of the most unique games in recent memory was “Kentucky Route Zero”, which released slowly but surely over the last decade. To tide people over during the large gaps between the different Acts, Cardboard Computer released intermission mini-games, one of which involved calling a mysterious telephone number. If you do, you’re put through to the audio guide “Here and There Along the Echo”, which gently guides you through bizarre situations like what to do if you start hearing organ music in the wilderness. It served as a memorable prelude to Act IV, and even had a mysterious eBay listing as part of the experience; a Western Electric 2500 telephone only capable of dialling this number.

“Alan Wake” (2009)

Dr. Emil Hartman is the psychiatrist Wake intends to visit to help cure his writer’s block, though he’s much more sinister than he first appears. In typical “Alan Wake”, you-don’t-know-what’s-real-and-what’s-not style, Remedy included a phone number in Hartman’s clinic which was dialable in the real world. If you called it back when the game was new, you’d reach the clinic’s answerphone machine, treated to Hartman himself explaining to you what his clinic is and how it works – until he gets cut off by a malevolent force. And of course, he doesn’t pass up the opportunity to plug his fictional book, “The Creator’s Dilemma.”

“InFamous Second Son” (2014)

While “Second Son” did have an entire mission thread that relied on you making progress in an ARG to track down a paper conduit, this Easter egg was a little more subtle. Delsin will come across various billboards in Seattle displaying a hotline number for the Department of Unified Protection, so that people can turn in any suspected “bio-terrorists” in the area. If you call it you get to hear a message from the DUP’s director, Augustine, who explains the threat conduits pose to convince you to do your part in stopping them. It’s always cool to see attention to detail like this.

“God of War” (2005)

The original “God of War” contained not just one, but two hidden phone numbers you could call for two completely separate messages, both incredibly hard to find. To unlock the second message, all you have to do is defeat Aries and then destroy both minotaur statues in his throne room, which each take a whopping 400 hits. This number leads you to a message from Kratos and game director David Jaffe, whom Kratos murders for being annoying. If you do all that for a second time while playing on God Mode, then you get the first secret message, where Kratos is not interrupted and congratulates the player on their achievement.