Former Jagex boss Mark Gerhard teams up with Tomy for indie toys-to-life effort

One of the key figures behind hit MMO Runescape is partnering with toy maker Tomy to launch a new toys-to-life competitor.

PlayFusion was co-founded by Mark Gerhard, after he stepped down from his position as CEO and CTO of Jagex in late 2014.

Now, the indie developer will work with Tomy, the Japanese company behind brands such as Furby, Jenga and the Pokemon range of toys, to launch a rival to existing toys-to-life franchises Skylanders, LEGO Dimensions, Disney Infinity and Amiibo.

PlayFusion’s as-yet untitled RPG is billed as featuring ‘unparalled transmedia storytelling’ in the announcement of the partnership, with Tomy president Masayuki Nagatake ambitiously pitching it as having the potential to become the biggest toys-to-life IP to date.

“PlayFusion has pioneered the future of ‘toys-to-life’ and we’re thrilled to partner with them to deliver breakthrough original IP,” Nagatake said.

“We believe our partnership is uniquely positioned to become the leading game, toy and technology platform for this hyper-growth category over the next three to five years.”

“Tomy is the ideal toy partner,” said Gerhard, who is also CEO of PlayFusion. “They are one of the only global toy companies with distribution operations spanning six continents and, crucially, they are industry leaders in both quality and innovation – which perfectly matches our DNA.

“We are very excited to partner with them to bring a new depth of entertainment experience to the compelling fantasy world we are creating.”