Two giants of the children’s play industry have combined forces in a licensing deal between the gaming platform ROBLOX and the toy franchise LOL Surprise. LOL Surprise Official Party will launch on Roblox’s social gaming platform on April 2, according to a statement to The Licensing Letter from MGA Entertainment. “This past year has found parents discovering new ways to get their kids to play,” said Aram Atamian. “With that, one of America’s top toy properties LOL Surprise is joining forces with top digital gaming platform ROBLOX – creating a relationship with the 1st Doll World of Roblox on a global level. Through these two leaders in toy/play coming together, billions of fans can now discover a more immersive and shared gaming experience.” As a lead up to the LOL/ROBLOX… . . . read more
Tetris Waffle Maker Shows You Should Play With Your Food
Lisle Licensing takes the Tetris brand forward in 2021 The video game property Tetris and their UK-based licensing agent Lisle Licensing have launched a slate of new deals, including one for a hilarious new Tetris waffle maker from Fizz Creations. Apparently, someone with a love of trapezoids realized waffles are just a lot of tasty Tetris shapes packed together, and decided to produce a waffle maker that punches out the individual shapes. No more can you mother tell you to stop playing with your food. “We’re all about fun and novelty at Fizz Creations, so are excited to partner with Tetris to launch the waffle maker,” said Zoe Ryan, Marketing Manager at Fizz Creations. ” added Tetrimino shaped waffles … what’s not to love!” Lisle Licensing says they’ve kicked off… . . . read more
Special Report: The Future of Hasbro
By Gary Symons TLL Editor in Chief The ‘Play and Entertainment’ conglomerate Hasbro has for the first time outlined its future plans in a live investor event, and as expected, the news will be game changing for the company and for its licensing partners worldwide. Sit down and grab yourself a coffee or tea, because it’s a LOT. At the core of the announcement, Hasbro has outlined its “strategic growth drivers” for the near and medium term, and has unveiled new product segments aligned to these drivers. In other words, the company is restructuring, and it’s doing so in ways that it feels will better prepare Hasbro for a rapidly changing environment. The new financial reporting segments are: Consumer Products, including toys and games; Wizards of the Coast (Wizards) and… . . . read more
Hasbro Expands License Deal With Epic Games
Toy and entertainment company Hasbro has announced an expansion of its current licensing program with Epic Games for products based on the Fortnite video game. The deal, announced during Hasbro’s Investor Event on Feb. 25, extends the agreement by five years, and expands the deal beyond outdoor play products and tabletop games into item expressions such as collectible action figures, vehicles, and role-play gear. The announcement extends a successful two-year deal brokered by IMG between Hasbro and Epic Games wherein the company was granted license to integrate Fortnite into its NERF and MONOPOLY products. Now, with the growing partnership, Hasbro is excited to bring new products as well as in-game experiences to Fortnite fans of all ages, first with the recent in-game debut of the G.I. JOE character, Snake Eyes…. . . . read more
Wildbrain Launches Deal For ‘Assassin’s Creed’ Parkour Courses In Saudi Arabia
A deal brokered by WildBrain CPLG on behalf of Ubisoft will allow Assassin’s Creed fans to release their inner Ninja with a blockbuster experiential attraction in Saudi Arabia. Wildbrain, a leading entertainment, sport and brand licensing agency, has secured a deal with Osool Entertainment to develop location-based entertainment (LBE) attractions for the blockbuster video game franchise, Assassin’s Creed. The agreement will see Osool Entertainment create three brand new Assassin’s Creed indoor attractions in Saudi Arabia, targeting fans aged 8-40 years. Scheduled to open in Spring 2021, the Assassin’s Creed attractions will be situated within Osool Entertainment’s indoor Fizz Adventure parks and consist of a branded parkour course including a rope and ninja course. The immersive experience will bring to life themes and elements from the video game franchise’s first installment, giving guests… . . . read more
EA Expands Mobile Game With Glu Acquisition
Electronic Arts is making a huge move in the video gaming space as it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire mobile game developer GluMobile Inc. GluMobile is a leading global developer and publisher of mobile games including Design Home, Covet Fashion, and MLB Tap Sports Baseball. Under the terms of the agreement, EA will acquire Glu for $2.1 billion in enterprise value. Glu stockholders will receive $12.50 in cash for each share of Glu stock, representing a 36% premium to Glu’s closing share price on February 5, 2021. Upon closing, the acquisition will be immediately accretive to Electronic Arts’ total net bookings, and is expected to grow underlying profitability beginning in its first year. EA officials say the acquisition will immediately add significant scale to Electronic Arts’ mobile games business…. . . . read more
Halo & Xbox Release New Bedding Sets For The Sleepy Gamer
Video gaming is exhausting work, so it just made sense for Microsoft to partner with boutique bedding specialist Dreamtex Ltd. to develop a bedding collection for the Xbox and the critically acclaimed Halo franchise. “Gamers … and even Spartans … need a good night’s sleep to make sure they are ready to perform every day,” says John Friend, Head of Halo & Xbox Consumer Products. “We are thrilled to be working with a great partner like Dreamtex to roll out high-quality and brand-appropriate Xbox and Halo bedding, and we hope fans are ready to recharge and level up their bedrooms with these new stylish and comfy sets.” The partnership was brokered by Tinderbox, the digital division of Microsoft’s licensing agency, Beanstalk. Following the global launch of the fourth generation Xbox… . . . read more
LEGO Deal With SEGA Results in ‘Super Sonic’ Collection
Video gaming’s most iconic speedster is now coming to a box of LEGO near you, as LEGO Ideas announced it is releasing a line of products for Sonic the Hedgehog. Even more interesting, the partnership is happening because of a concept design submitted by a 24-year-old LEGO superfan in the UK, Viv Grannel. LEGO says Grannel, also a passionate Sonic fan, created her design as a submission to the LEGO Ideas platform, a LEGO initiative that takes new ideas that have been imagined and voted for by fans and turns them into reality. Grannel’s design was inspired by SEGA’s critically acclaimed 2017 platformer experience Sonic Mania, and features iconic characters and environments from the game’s Green Hill Zone level. Once the design was completed, it achieved the prerequisite 10,000 votes from LEGO fans worldwide before being greenlit to go into production by the LEGO Group. Talking… . . . read more
Erve and Psyonix Launch Rocket League Apparel Line
Erve Europe has partnered with video game developer Psyonix to create an extensive, all-new collection of Rocket League apparel, in a deal brokered by IMG. Rocket League is a high octane video game that combines arcade style soccer with vehicular mayhem that has been named a winner or nominee of more than 150 “Game of the Year” awards. Available on Nintendo Switch™, PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system, Xbox One and PC on Epic Games Store, Rocket League includes nearly endless customization possibilities, a fully-featured offline season mode, multiple game types, casual and competitive online matches, and special “Mutators” that let you change the rules entirely. The new Rocket League-branded line will include t-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, jackets, nightwear, socks, accessories and more, featuring designs inspired by the game’s most loved cars and arcade-style… . . . read more
Lego and Universal Music Group Launch Music Video Maker
In yet another example of how the world of music licensing has evolved over the past two years, LEGO and Universal Music Group (UMG) announced on Jan. 26 the launch of LEGO VIDIYO, “a playful and innovative music video maker experience designed to celebrate and expand children’s creativity and passion for music.” The companies say in a joint statement that LEGO VIDIYO is a “brand-new way to play that helps children dream big by directing, producing, starring in, and sharing their own music videos, using tracks from across the globe, led by chart hits from UMG’s unrivalled artists.” It’s also another way that music publishers like Universal have expanded the ways in which they license music, with a pronounced accent on licensing to social media networks and video games. While LEGO… . . . read more