The city of Leeds transforms into Santo Ileso from Saints Row

As a proud and loyal Leodiensian, any chance to big my hometown up and you can bet I am going to take it. As also a loyal gamer, any chance to wax lyrical about my favourite pastime and I am again going to seize the opportunity. Combine both together though and well, insert that gif of that guy whose mind is being blown. I am going all the way in.

A new mural has appeared in Leeds, tying in with the launch of Saints Row on Xbox, PlayStation and PC. It has been a while since Leeds got a new gaming mural; the last one was for Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance and that stuck around for about eight years. We’d all agree, it was time for a new one.

Commissioned by PLAION – the new name for Koch Media – and completed by street artist Captain Kris, this new mural will have a much shorter lifespan. The Saints Row inspired mural will be visible for the next month on Sackville Street in Leeds. For those more familiar with the area itself, it is somewhere between Meanwood and Little London. Those aren’t the names of fictional places, our woods really are mean.

Now, people of London, Manchester, Birmingham and more are probably thinking “well, why not our city?” and well, for a couple of reasons. Firstly, because you get so much other stuff, let little old Leeds have this one yeah? And secondly, in Saints Row, the main emphasis is on the characters aiming to pay off their student debt by any means necessary. And, after a survey conducted by PLAION, they found that Leeds has the most ambitious young people in the UK, much like those featured in Saints Row. They topped the list beating out cities such as Bristol, Edinburgh and Leicester to the top spot.

Interestingly, Birmingham came bottom of the list.

“The research was inspired by the themes of the game where you and your three friends take on lawless factions in a fight for power and embark on a journey to make your own way in the world as your own boss. We think Captain Kris has done a fantastic job of capturing the spirit, attitude and tone of Saints Row with his design” said Simon Turner, PLAION’s UK Marketing Director. And judging from the pictures, we’d wholeheartedly agree.

As a result of coming top of the pops, Leeds – now known as ‘Leeds: Boss Factory’ gets the spoils. The spoils being this fantastic mural to celebrate the release of Saints Row, releasing on 23^rd August on Xbox, PlayStation and PC. Click the link to head to the Xbox Store and get those pre-orders ready.