Lead developer of 10:10 Games, the studio behind the upcoming game Funko Fusionrevealed that they never intended to include free-to-play elements in the project.
Imagine if Funko Pop! got a LEGO style game – just that Funko Fusion there is.
The third-person adventure game, available for consoles and PC, lets players take control of sixty different characters from different franchises and guide them through a pop vinyl universe made up of countless different worlds from a handful of Universal Picture IPs.
Funko Fusion does not have a Battle Pass or live service
In an exclusive interview with The Direct’s Russ Milheim at San Diego Comic-Con 2024 at 10:10 Games Studio head Arthur Parsons discussed their upcoming events. Funko Fusion to the game and revealed that they never intended to use microtransactions.
When asked if a mobile version of the game was ever considered, Parsons confirmed it “(They) never even considered free players,” and they never considered “going to the mobile route:”
“We’ve always made console games, and we know how it works. We know how it’s delivered, so we never even considered going free-to-play or going the mobile route. In the future, who knows? I think mobile is powerful enough now that if we wanted 18 months or two a year from now, could we do an iteration depending on whether people want it.”
Being able to buy a game and play it all was important to them:
“But for us, it’s about delivering the game as a game, at the price of a console game, and then that’s it. You buy the game, you play the game, and you enjoy the game. It’s not like living an ecosystem.”
Parsons joked about how they don’t want to take people out Fortnite but just trying “deliver games at the base level:”
“We’re not trying to bring people from ‘Fortnite’ and then you come into our free games. I think that’s why there’s a few challenges in the industry because everyone’s trying to do that and forget that people just want to buy games, so yeah, we’re trying to make games at the grassroots level.”
The developer repeated this “What (they) don’t want to do is Battle Pass” instead, really seeks to provide a “game in its entirety:”
“But what we don’t want to do is a Battle Pass live service. We don’t want to do that. It’s something that the game as a whole is in. Have fun. If we can add something that might engage with people. Fine if they don’t want to watch this From Funko’s point of view, what’s great, what’s weird.
But how will the game be updated, if at all, after release?
Parsons confirmed that they hope to add more stuff, but it’s important for them to keep communication open with the player base to find out what everyone wants:
“I think a lot of it comes down to how the end consumer, the end player, feels about the game and the feedback they give us. We’ve been very open about going the right way. Like, yes, we have Discord. We have social people everywhere. We want to be in direct communication with our players to hear from them what they like, what they don’t like and what they want more of The game has over 20 IPs, we figure out what we can do after launch that might keep people excited or excited.
To get an idea of how they’ll approach additional content in the future, Parsons offered a hypothetical example of something that could be added. “special edition Jaw make” for the original film “50 years next year:”
“Or you know, it’s ‘Jaws,’ its 50th birthday next year. Could we do a special edition of the Jaws character? Like, if people want it. We’re going to add some free stuff as well. When it comes to seasonal things we might offer some free updates, but we’re going to support the game as long as we can, (get) the game out and then listen. What do people want for DLC?”
One thing that many noticed quite quickly was that some massive branding was missing Funko Fusionespecially those under the big umbrellas like Marvel and Star Wars.
The developer admitted that it all comes down to licensing and that ultimately they wanted to have a good selection of properties that celebrated a variety of fandoms and genres:
“It’s like a licensing scenario where when we set out at 10:10, the games and we went, ‘We know we want to make a game that celebrates fandoms and brings. people together who can like different things and enjoy these different things, but to play one game, you have to go to the big studios, right, because they own the IP.
He said that Universal was the perfect partner for the game, as they had done “really wide IP address:”
“So we partnered with Universal because NBC Universal has a really wide range of IP, everything from ‘Jurassic World’ to ‘Umbrella Academy,’ which obviously has a new season. But then they have cult classics, like ‘Chucky’ and ‘The Thing.’ , and then they have a horror IP like “Megan.” So they were great, they filled our lineup…”
Parsons then explained that if they wanted to add more things going forward, it would probably be from Universal or “independent owner IP:”
“Going forward, if we want to add something, it would probably be something from Universal or something that’s maybe more like an independently owned IP. Because something like another major studio, you can sit back and say, ‘Actually, that could be a game down.’
He specifically noted that “hypothetically speaking” if they were to get the rights to the Marvel IP, it would “(probably) be its own baby:”
“Hypothetically speaking, I think yes, I would look at it and say, ‘This probably has to be its own baby.’
One of many large properties in a central location Funko Fusion there is Five Nights at Freddy’s, which the entire level is focused on. Voice actor Kellen Goff even returns as Freddy Fazbear himself.
Goff spoke briefly to The Direct where he confirmed that he “(don’t) believe there’s anything to do with (kernel) inheritance FNAF games)” but they worked hard to sprinkle in some fun easter eggs Funko Fusion:
“I don’t think it has anything to do with the story. But…the voice cues that have been so popular in games before this, we’ve been trying to put them in there. I haven’t seen the building of it yet, but they’ve hidden a lot of cool easter eggs in there too. They’ve said , that there is a pizza shoot.
Let’s talk more Funko Fusion as a whole, Arthur Parsons specified how “The pillars of this game were Funko, authenticity, mixing and fun:”
“So when we started the studio, the pillars of the game were Funko, authenticity, mixing, and fun. They don’t sound like much, but the Funko element made sure that everything in the game felt authentic. Funko, there’s always so little shaped vinyl in the world, you know, exaggerated shapes. Funko.”
Parsons was also happy to explain how when you switch characters in the game, you’re interacting with the real Pop! Box:
“Obviously all the characters are Funko Pops. But we also have a way where you switch characters. You go into the Pop! Box and you interact; you jump in and then you jump out as a new character and the box changes to the right character. This character runs around with Loungefly bags .There are lots of little easter eggs.
Funko’s VP of Licensing and Business Development, Jason Bischoff, also spoke with The Direct, where he shared what his favorite part of the game is.
In addition to his astonishment “it’s true” and finally here after that “three years of effort” Bischoff gestured “Funko’s Story” to be his greatest highlight Funko Fusion:
“I’d probably start by saying it’s true! Which, you know, after three years of trying, right? Holy smokes, we can actually share this with the world. Regardless, for me personally, it’s a Funko story. It’s stuff we’ve never talked about, who Freddie Funko is and the brand we have.”
As he continued, he noted how great it is to be “definitively defines these elements in the eyes of the public:”
“So for me personally, it’s defining those elements definitively in the eyes of the public, people who’ve never met us before, or long-time fans, making sure that we respect that everything has come before or been talked about before, and then at the end of the day, the promise of what Funko is It’s about fun, friends, family, and more, so I make sure that Freddy not only reflects the inherent power of the crown, yeah, it’s Funko’s story, and then introducing crazy new characters like Eddie.
Funko Fusion will be published on the 13 September for PS5, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC and more.
Read other Funko news here:
SDCC 2024: Funkoville International Airport Booth Experience (Photos)
The 10 most expensive Funko pops of all time
The 10 Best South Park Funko Pops, Ranked
