![]() ![]() Rowden says that despite what some may think, the goal is not to push out as much product as soon as possible to generate maximum revenue. ![]() To that extent, the approach for Among Us differs from the established norms. If you don’t think about licensing from the beginning you might lose out entirely in the end.” The market is saturated with unlicensed products, and it’s already halfway through its run. ![]() “In Las Vegas, the knock-off gear can be found at every mall kiosk. “They waited too long to officially license,” Newsome says. Lizzy Newsome, toy curator at Kappa Toys in Las Vegas, believes that Innersloth faces an uphill battle in bringing official products to market. “We are waiting and will welcome newness to the category with plush, key clips, bottles, and perhaps figures.”Īmong Us figural stampers | Source: PMI Ltd. “Among Us has a solid fanbase that we’ve seen steadily increasing since the end of last year,” says Richard Derr, owner of Learning Express Toys in Lake Zurich, Illinois. While the first wave of licensed products was swiftly brought to shelves after inking the deals, some retailers have mixed views when it comes to fan demand and sales potential in different markets across the country. “We have worked closely together to create products, packaging, point-of-sale materials, and a TV commercial.” “In a little over six months we have gone from contract to shelf, something we should all be proud of given the external factors of COVID-19, Chinese New Year, and shipping challenges,” says Toikido Founder and CEO Darran Garnham, whose small crew has been aided by the teams at Innersloth and Dual Wield Studio in translating the 2D world of the video game into 3D toys. and YuMe came on board to distribute Toikido’s product line, which expanded to include capsules, costumes, stampers, and additional items. Under the agreement, Toikido was granted rights to develop and market collectibles, figures, plush, playsets, R/C, and more. In January, UK-based Toikido was named global master toy partner for Among Us. Official Among Us toys | Source: Toikido/YuMe/PMI Ltd/The Pop Insider EMPOWERING CREWMATES VS. Finalizing the colors for the game, and then finalizing merchandise based on pantones, CMYK, etc., takes time because it’s very rarely a 1:1 mix, especially when considering products and how those colors will display on different items.” “Updating the art so it’s cohesive across the game and then reflected in the merchandise took time as assets had to be hand-drawn and changed. “Matching colors and ensuring that we have a cohesive lineup that focuses on the most popular colors as well as designs that complement their base colors is an important factor,” Rowden says. Rowden says that the developers had to focus on cross-medium consistency. One of the biggest challenges came in putting together proper style guides that could be used to ensure continuity between the bright, colorful game and any products it may inspire. “A significant amount of time has been spent developing what Among Us is, in actuality, and what the team feels strongly about when it comes to the perception of their brand, their IP, and their characters.” ![]() Many games are created by groups of friends, not huge teams that have the next 10 years in mind for their franchise,” says Rowan K. “Indie game development operates much differently than massive intellectual property (IP). By fall, Innersloth enlisted Dual Wield Studio to serve as the exclusive licensor for the Among Us brand, as the complexities of building a licensing program began to run concurrently alongside a growing number of fan creations and unlicensed merch. The sudden interest in the game created an instantaneous hunger for ancillary merchandise that caught the developers off guard. 2 game, Subway Surfers, and more than 100 million more than Roblox. Eager to play along at home, millions of soon-to-be fans downloaded the game and entered the fight to see who among the Crewmates was an Impostor by looking for clues as to who may or may not be “sus” (suspect).Īccording to Apptopia, Among Us snagged the top spot as the most-downloaded game of 2020 with more than 264 million downloads worldwide - that’s nearly 40 million more than the No. The game did solid business in its first two years, but what no one could’ve predicted is that last year, in the middle of a global pandemic, Among Us would be thrust in front of millions of people as Twitch streamers and TikTokers introduced the colorful crew to a captive audience. What began as a part-time gig became a full-time job for the seven-person Innersloth team as Among Us hit PC by the end of 2018. Impostors | Source: Innersloth A SURPRISE HIT ![]()
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