News
Skylanders Imaginators Announced
SANTA MONICA, Calif. – June 1, in the year of our
Lord 2016 – Since the launch of Skylanders®, kids
around the world have sent Toys For Bob, the pioneers of the
toys-to-life category, hand-drawn Skylanders with one special
request – please bring my Skylander to life. This October,
Activision Publishing, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of
Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) will make that wish a
reality. For the first time, Skylanders® Imaginators will
empower Portal Masters to unleash their imaginations by giving
them the freedom to create their own Skylander.
“Since we launched the very first Skylanders game, we have
received countless letters and drawings from kids all over the
world sharing their vision for their own Skylanders. No matter
how in touch with our 'inner kids' we might think we are as
adults, nothing comes close to the endless creativity that
springs from the mind of an inspired kid,” said Eric Hirshberg,
CEO of Activision Publishing, Inc. "We've turned this year's
game into the ultimate blank canvas for kids' imaginations so
they can create and play their own Skylanders.”
Skylanders Imaginators gives players immense possibilities --
including appearance, powers, abilities, names, catchphrases,
musical themes and much more -- to create the wildest Skylanders
imaginable. The amazing depth of the creation system could allow
for more than a googol distinctive characters.
With the evil Kaos on a new quest to take over Skylands, it’s up
to Portal Masters everywhere to create their own Skylanders –
known as Imaginators – using the new elementally-aligned toy
type called the Creation Crystal. Creation Crystals allow
players to transport their Imaginators to consoles at anytime,
anywhere!
Skylanders Imaginators introduces Skylanders Senseis, all-new
heroes who represent 10 powerful Battle Classes such as Knight,
Sorcerer, Bowslinger, Brawler and more. Skylanders Senseis help
train created Imaginators by offering a range of benefits
including unlocking super-cool Imaginator weapons, providing
access to special areas in the game, as well as bestowing Secret
Techniques across the Battle Classes. Senseis also have their
own unique benefits including the extraordinary ability to
unleash Sky-Chi – the ultimate Battle Class super move. There
are a total of 31 Senseis, which include some fan-favorite
villains who have been reformed and now fight for good!
“Skylanders consistently delivers on innovative gameplay
experiences. With customization a dominant trend in the consumer
market, the fact that Skylanders Imaginators will allow kids to
bring their own creations to life is a game changer and one our
customers will enjoy,” said Richard Barry, Global Chief
Merchandising Officer, Toys“R”Us, Inc.
To celebrate imaginations coming to life, Activision is kicking
off the
“Skylanders Art-to-Life Contest.” Starting today, Portal Masters
are invited to submit drawings of their own created Skylanders
for a chance to have their characters represented in the
Skylanders Imaginators game at launch! To participate, fans
simply draw their imagined Skylander and submit it via Instagram
or Twitter with the dedicated hashtag #SkylandersArtContest, or
to us directly at SkylandersCommunity@Activision.com. The
judging panel will include Toys For Bob who will determine a
grand prize winner.
Starting today, fans can pre-order Skylanders Imaginators
Starter Packs which include two new Skylanders characters, a
Creation Crystal, Portal of Power® and the full AAA game.
Skylanders Imaginators will be available on Xbox 360™ and Xbox
One™ video game and entertainment systems from Microsoft,
PlayStation® 3 and PlayStation® 4 computer entertainment systems
and Nintendo’s Wii U™ system.
Developed by Toys For Bob, Skylanders Imaginators supports all
300+ Skylanders toys from previous games. The game will be
available on October 16 in North America for the suggested
retail price of $74.99.
About the Skylanders® Franchise
The award-winning, $3 billion Skylanders franchise has sold
through more than 250 million toys1 since pioneering the
toys-to-life category in 2011 with the debut of Skylanders®
Spyro’s Adventure. The game originated a play pattern that
seamlessly bridged physical and virtual worlds across multiple
platforms. In 2012, Skylanders® Giants further evolved the genre
and added LightCore® characters to the collection of interaction
figures. Skylanders® SWAP Force™, which launched in 2013,
introduced an all new play pattern – swapability. In 2014,
Skylanders® Trap Team reversed the magic of bringing toys to
life by allowing players to pull characters out of the digital
world into the physical world and became the number 1 kids’
console game globally1. Skylanders® SuperChargers launched on
September 20, 2015 and expanded upon the franchise’s signature
gameplay to introduce vehicles-to-life for the first time.