The studios behind the trending video game Among Us have chosen the newly formed British toymaker Toikido as their global master toy partner for a line of collectibles, action figures, plush toys, play sets and more.
Among Us has become one of the world’s most popular games since it was first released in June 2018 by InnerSloth and Dual Wield Studios. The game makers say its popularity really exploded during the pandemic in 2020, when it became the most downloaded game in the world.
The free multi-player game can be played on multiple platforms, including smartphones, tablets and PCs. Like many games that hit the big time, the popularity of Among Us soared after some of the top gamers on Twitch started to play and live stream the game to millions of their fans. The game also got a huge, free boost when US congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez played in a highly publicized challenge against Jagmeet Singh, the leader of Canada’s New Democratic Party, in an event designed to get out the vote for the 2020 election. Singh, whom Ocasio-Cortez said seemed very nice, then demonstrated his ruthless gaming chops by killing another game character in front of her.
The game has a highly socialized play style, which some analysts say contributed to its success as people felt isolated during the pandemic. Essentially, the game involves having one to three of the players in a match designated as ‘imposters’ who then try to kill other crew members on a space ship, while the crew tries to detect who they are and eliminate them—sort of a Murder She Wrote for the space age.
With Among Us hitting a new high of popularity in late 2020, the studios saw it as the perfect time to branch out into toy licensing, and in Toikido have chosen a brand new company to work with.
Toikido was founded by Darran Garnham just months ago, in September 2020, with a website that is bare of detail but denotes partnerships with Disney, Universal, E One and the BBC. Garnham was previously VP of international consumer products in the EMEA for Universal Pictures. Prior to his gig at Universal, Garnham was also the chief commercial officer and president of entertainment for Mind Candy, the company behind Moshi Monsters and World of Warriors.