Web3 IP licencing platform Spaceport is partnering with Toei Animation — the studio behind One Piece and Dragon Ball — to license content from its next film, Hypergalatic, in UGC gaming platforms. This deal enables Toei to license this IP to gaming content creators for titles like Roblox and Fortnite at scale.
“We are thrilled to collaborate with Toei Animation on Hypergalactic to merge anime with cutting-edge virtual worlds. This partnership is more than just bringing new content to Roblox and Fortnite; it’s about empowering communities to organically create a limitless amount of deep and personal interactive experiences that resonate with fans and unlock new revenue streams for IP owners. For new IP like Hypergalactic, this is a chance to build the kind of fanbase and cultural impact that Toei achieved with Dragon Ball, One Piece and Digimon,” said Le Zhang, founder and CEO of Spaceport.
Driving IP awareness
Ultimately, Toei exploring a new strategy to introduce its upcoming film to players of popular gaming platforms. Spaceport allows game studios and solo creators access a library of IP they can use in monetized works. Ideally, this will help Toei drive awareness with these platforms’ primarily Gen Z audiences — who have high affinity for anime.
“This partnership with Spaceport is a significant milestone for Toei Animation. By leveraging Spaceport’s technology, we aim to bring Hypergalactic to life in ways that will engage and inspire our fans. We are pleased to share our latest feature and work directly with users to develop our new IP to the next level. This collaboration shows the vast potential of UGC platforms to revolutionize entertainment and fan engagement,” said Yoshi Ikezawa, head of international co-production at Toei Animation.
This arrangement also helps fans mitigate legal risks of creating (and monetizing) content featuring IP without a license. This is a new approach for Toei, which has previously gone to great lengths to protect its IP.
Hypergalactic is currently in post-production but does not currently have a release date.