Funko's AAA Announcement Has Fans Going Wild

Lego isn't the only manufacturer of fun plastic characters to enter the gaming business. Another toy company is getting in on the excitement: Funko, the manufacturer of Pops, the delightful, big-headed models of characters from nerd and pop culture, just made an announcement that has fans and collectors going wild. The company has teamed up with new studio 10.10 Games to develop video games based on the beloved collectibles.

In a brief trailer released this week, Funko teased the partnership and upcoming titles. The video introduces fans to Freddy, a Funko Pop wearing a crown and a 10.10 Games t-shirt. Freddy dances, plays rock guitar, and expresses approval of the new endeavor. While this sequence is clearly intended to get fans psyched over the news (and Freddy) rather than provide details, there's still some information available about the upcoming Funko games.

The trailer proudly proclaims that the titles Funko plans to make with 10.10 Games will be AAA releases, indicating they'll have large budgets. "The companies' first co-production will be a AAA Action Platformer in 2023," Funko revealed in a press release. "This first game, in addition to being an action platformer, will have major third-party studio integration and is expected to have a 'T' for teen rating." There's no word yet about other future projects apart from that they'll also be AAA endeavors. Both 10.10 Games and Funko appear eager to stress that this will be a long-term partnership.

It seems appropriate that 10.10 Games will work with Funko. The studio was founded by industry veteran John Burton, who previously founded Traveller's Tales, the studio behind the "Lego" games since "Lego Star Wars" in 2005. Traveller's Tales has continued to make entries for Lego, most recently releasing "The Skywalker Saga." Meanwhile, Burton has moved on to a new studio and fresh prospects. It's fitting that his studio's first major endeavor will be a game based on another plastic pop culture phenomenon.

With Lego still going strong, it looks like a good time for Funko to get in on the action. Fan reactions certainly seem to support this idea. Gamers have expressed their hype over the anticipated awesomeness of the games on Twitter, and the trailer on YouTube already has thousands of views with many commenters welcoming the news and speculating on what the partnership will spawn. Could Funko challenge Lego's market dominance? Keep watching to see.