We spoke to Mind Candy about building its newest IP and what we can expect next.
World of Warriors has gone from strength to strength since the first mobile game launched in November last year. There have since been two more mobile games launched, with yet another in the pipeline.
The first consumer products – trading cards from Topps – came to the market in April, and since then Penguin Random House has published a sticker activity book, an official guide and the first in a fictional series written by Curtis Jobling. If that wasn’t enough, the much anticipated retail launch of GP Flair’s toys came at the beginning of September.
“We’ve had such a positive start with the consumer products programme,” says Sam Ferguson, Mind Candy’s director of licensing and retail. “The trading cards are doing really well and are tracking alongside the early success of Moshi Monsters. The first fiction title by Curtis Jobling came out at the beginning of August and has been really popular with our fans.
“Our softlines and back to school products have been available at retail since July. It’s just great to see product out there after months of work.
But it is the toy launch that has really got retailers and consumers buzzing says Sam. “We worked closely with retailers on pre-awareness campaigns and invested heavily in TV, cinema and YouTube advertising. It’s early days, but we’re extremely happy with the retail presence and the way that our partners are supporting the brand.”
Publishing is another key category for Mind Candy, with the depth of World of Warriors lending itself nicely to story telling. What’s more, the brand’s historical angle adds an educational element.
“Stealth education is important to Mind Candy,” says Sam. “The warriors themselves are all factually and historically correct. This comes through in the mobile games, but it’s also a core part of the publishing programme.”
There’s still more to come in terms of consumer products with new softlines being added in the lead up to Christmas, as well as further non-fiction and fiction titles. Come 2016 Mind Candy will be focusing on international markets. The first product launches in France, Spain, Portugal and Italy are due in January, with Australia, New Zealand and the US coming on board as the year rolls through.
Mind Candy are also rolling digitally into new markets as Darran Garnham, its chief commercial officer explains: “We launched a localised version of the game in Japan in August with strong platform support and although early in its lifecycle, the game is performing well.
I don’t think it is a surprise that the game has been so popular in Japan. Historically there are a lot of strong warriors from that region and we have been sensitive to local culture. We are now planning localised versions in China and Korea to launch towards the end of the summer.”
The Mind Candy game developers have been kept busy over the past year with a further two games released from the World of Warriors franchise; Quest in June and Duel in September. Both are quite different from the initial game released last November and target different audiences.
“The first World of Warriors game was built for a wide user audience,” says Darran. “We wanted to get the brand in front of as many people as possible. These latest games are more targeted at the core fan-base who buy the merchandise, although Duel has been a big hit with everyone who has played it to date.”
The mobile games are only one of the touchpoints for the brand, with plenty more in the content pipeline. “We’re particularly excited about short-form animation and released three 60-second summoning videos on TV at the end of August, with three more launching soon,” says Darran. “These videos show how the six main warriors were summoned from history to the mysterious Wildlands. The brand lends itself to animation; it’s got such a deep, rich story at its heart. We’re looking to develop more animation for not only digital platforms but traditional ones as well.”
The big news on the content-front will be the release of the World of Warriors PlayStation 4 game in Q2 2016. “The PlayStation 4 game is incredibly exciting. On mobile we had some restrictions but a console-based game will offer more flexibility around the action,” says Darran.
It’s a very exciting time for everyone involved with World of Warriors, from licensees and retailers through to players and consumers. The brand has really come alive across so many platforms, including digital, hardlines, softlines and publishing. And it sounds like the best is still to come.
