Funko CEO Talks Popular IP That Will Be ‘Mixing’ in First Console Game and New Retail Store With Snoop Dogg
Funko is hard at work on its first-ever console game, which the CEO of the fan-collectibles company says will feature the “mixing” of characters from multiple popular IPs transformed into the brand’s iconic Pop! format.
“You will know them. And we are excited because we think the interaction between these IPs will speak to who Funko is by mixing the IPs in the game,” Andrew Perlmutter told Variety at Funko’s investor day press preview Tuesday. “And they’re not young IPs, so that’s the fun part. That’s all I can say.”
More from Variety
'Game of Thrones' Enters the Metaverse With Funko Digital Pop NFT Collection (EXCLUSIVE)
Funko Buys Mondo, High-End Pop Culture Collectibles Vendor, From Alamo Drafthouse (EXCLUSIVE)
For reference, Funko has long worked with “not young” brands like Marvel, DC, Disney, Star Wars and Harry Potter — just to name a few.
Perlmutter still can’t even call the AAA, action-platformer game by name, as the title has yet to be announced. What we do know is Funko is collaborating with 10:10 Games, the company backed by “Lego” video game developer Jon Burton, on the console project, which is targeting a 2023 launch.
“We’re thrilled to be working with those guys and we think that this is our first opportunity to really create content with our IP, which is exciting,” Perlmutter added.
In other Funko collaboration news, the team revealed Tuesday they are partnering with Snoop Dogg to open a “co-branded retail experience” in January across from SoFi Stadium called Tha Dogg House, which “will feature a variety of in-store exclusives from Funko’s Pop! and GOLD lines, and an assortment of products across sports, music, anime, movies, television and more.“
“Sports, music, concerts, events — there’s so many different opportunities to take advantage of that location,” Perlmutter said. “And we think that the focus on sports and music will really help us drive that brand and help us bring more eyeballs to who we are in these categories that we think we’re under-penetrated in.”
The plan is for Tha Dogg House to also pay “homage to Snoop’s career and unforgettable pop culture moments,” as the collaboration with the rapper came about because of how big a fan Funko is — once they were finally able to get his attention.
“We were talking about expanding our sports and music business and so we said, we need to connect with Snoop and find out if he knows about us and would be interested in partnering up, because we think that there’s a ton of opportunities,” Perlmutter said. “We were actually working on a Snoop Dogg item, and he was hard to get ahold of. He wouldn’t give his approvals. And we were like, forget this, let’s go talk to this guy. And when we did, he said, ‘Oh, I love your product!’ It was that situation where it’s lost in the middle. So we started ideating on what more we could do together.”
Best of Variety
Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
