The lead developer of 10:10 Games, the studio behind the upcoming game Funko Fusion, revealed that they never intended to include free-to-play elements in the project.
Imagine if Funko Pop! got a LEGO-style game—that’s essentially what Funko Fusion is.
The third-person adventure arcade game, which is available on consoles and PC, lets players control over sixty different characters from various franchises and lead them through a Pop Vinyl universe comprised of countless different worlds from a handful of Universal Picture IPs.
Funko Fusion Won't Have Battle Pass or be a Live Service
In an exclusive interview with The Direct's Russ Milheim at San Diego Comic-Con 2024, 10:10 Games Studio Head Arthur Parsons discussed their upcoming Funko Fusion game and revealed that they never planned to use microtransactions.
When asked if a mobile version of the game was ever considered, Parsons confirmed that "[They] never even considered free-to-play," nor did they ever consider "going the mobile route:"
"We've always made console games, and we know how that works. We know how to deliver that, so we never even considered free-to-play or going the mobile route. In the future, who knows? I think mobile devices are powerful enough now that if we wanted to in 18 months or two years, would we maybe do an iteration? Depending on whether people want it."
For them, being able to buy a game and play it all was important:
"But for us, it's about delivering a game as a game, as a console game price, and then that's it. You buy the game, you play the game, and you enjoy the game. It's not this sort of, like, living ecosystem."
Parsons joked about how they aren't looking to take people from Fortnite but just trying to "deliver games at the base level:"
"We're not trying to bring people from 'Fortnite', and then, like, you'll come to our free-to-play game. I think that's why the industry's having a few challenges is because everyone's trying to do that and forgetting people like to just buy games, right? So yeah, that's what we're trying to do, is deliver games at the base level."
The developer reiterated that "what [they] don't want to do is a Battle Pass," instead really striving to provide a "game in its entirety:"
"But what we don't want to do is a Battle Pass live service. We're not looking to do that. It's something where there's the game in its entirety. Have fun. If we can add something that might engage with people. Great. If they don't want it. It doesn't really matter. We would be remiss not to look at this from a Funko perspective and go, what's cool, what's quirky, what's weird? Add something in."
But how will the game be updated, if at all, post-launch?
Parsons confirmed that they do hope to add stuff, but it'll be important for them to keep communication open with their player base to figure out what everyone wants:
"I think that's going to largely come about from how the end consumer, the end gamer, engages with the game and the feedback they give us. We've been very open about going right. Like, yeah, we've got a Discord. We've got socials everywhere. We want to have direct communication with our players and gamers so we'll hear from them about what they like, what they don't like, and what they want more of. So the game will come out. The game's got over 20 IPs in it. We're obviously looking and going, what can we possibly do post-launch that can maybe, like, keep people energized or excited or bring new people in…"
To give an idea of how they are approaching additional content in the future, Parsons offered up a hypothetical example of something that could added is "a special edition Jaws character" for the original movie's "50th birthday 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 are going to add some free stuff as well. When it comes around to seasonal stuff, we might give some free updates, but we're going to support the game for as long as we can. Obviously, we'll be looking to the future to see what other games we do. I think for right now, [we'll] get the game out and then listen. What do people want as DLC?"
One thing many noticed fairly quickly was that some massive brand are missing from Funko Fusion, notably those under big umbrellas like Marvel and Star Wars.
The developer admitted that it all comes down to licensing and that, at the end of the day, they wanted to get a good selection of properties that celebrated multiple different fandoms and genres:
"It comes down to like a, you know, a licensing scenario, where, when we set out on the journey at 10:10, games, and we were going, 'We know we want to make a game that celebrates fandoms and brings people together that can like different stuff and enjoy this different stuff, but play one game,' you have to go to the big studios, right? Because they own the IP."
He shared that Universal was the perfect partner for the game, as they had "a really broad spectrum of IP:"
"So we partnered with Universal because NBC Universal has a really broad spectrum of IP, everything from, you know, 'Jurassic World', and 'Umbrella Academy,' which obviously has a new season out. But then they've got cult classics, like 'Chucky' and 'The Thing,' and then they've got horror IP, like 'Megan.' So they were great. They filled our spectrum..."
Parsons then explained that moving forward, if they wanted to add more things, it would likely be from Universal or "independently owner IP:"
"Moving forward, if we want to add something, it would probably be something from Universal or something that is maybe more like an independently owned IP. Because something like another big studio, you could sit at that and go, 'Actually, that could be a game down the line.'"
He specifically noted that "hypothetically speaking," if they did get the rights to Marvel IP, it would "[probably] be its own baby:"
"Hypothetically speaking, I think, yeah, I would look at that and go, 'That's probably got to be its own baby.'"
One of the many big properties that take center stage in Funko Fusion is Five Nights at Freddy's, which has an entire level focused on it. Voice actor Kellen Goff even returns as Freddy Fazbear himself.
Goff briefly spoke to The Direct, where he confirmed that he "[doesn't] believe anything connects to the lore [of the core FNAF games]" but that they worked hard to sprinkle lots of fun Easter eggs into Funko Fusion:
"I don't believe anything connects to the lore. But... the sound cues that have been so popular in games coming up to this, we've tried to sprinkle those in there. I haven't seen a build of it yet, but they've hidden a lot of cool easter eggs in there as well. They've said, like, there's a pizza shooting gun. It's really fun."
Talking more about Funko Fusion as a whole, Arthur Parsons elaborated on how "the pillars for this game were Funko, authenticity, mash-up, and fun:"
"So when we set the studio up, the pillars for this game were Funko, authenticity, mash-up, and fun. They don't sound like they mean much, but the Funko element was making sure that everything in the game feels authentically Funko. So, the world has an ever so slightly molded vinyl world. Everything's rounded off, you know, exaggerated shapes. It's as you'd expect a world to be, but then, just with a bit of tweaking to make it feel more Funko."
Parsons was also happy to explain how when you swap characters in the game, you interact with an actual Pop! Box:
"Obviously, all the characters are Funko Pops. But then we've also got the way you swap characters. You go to a Pop! Box and you interact; you jump in and then jump out as a new character, and the box changes to the right branding for whichever the character is. This character is running around with Loungefly bags. There's a Mondo shop in there. There's loads of little easter eggs…"
Funko VP of Licensing and Business Development Jason Bischoff also chatted with The Direct, where he shared what his favorite part of the game is.
On top of his amazement that "it's real" and finally here after "three years of effort," Bischoff pointed to "the Funko story" as being his biggest highlight of Funko Fusion:
"I would probably start with, it's real! Which, you know, after three years of effort, right? Holy smokes, we can actually share this with the world. Independent of that, for me personally, it's the Funko story. It's stuff that we've never told. For 25 years, we've only alluded to who Freddie Funko is. We've never spoken to the Funko crown. And it's critical lore in that it is the nucleus of Funko. It's on almost every icon and brand that we have."
Continuing, he noted how great it is to be "defining these elements definitively in the eyes of the public:"
"So for me personally, it's defining these elements definitively in the eyes of the public, folks that have never met us before or long-time fans, making sure that we're honoring that everything came before or was spoken to before, and then ultimately delivering on the promise of the premise, which is what Funko is about. It is fun, friends, family, and more. So, making sure that not only Freddy reflected that, but ultimately the inherent power of the crown. So I would say, yeah, it's the Funko story. And then also getting to introduce crazy new characters to the canon, like Eddie."
Funko Fusion releases on September 13 on PS5, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC, and more.
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