Toy Brand Mattel Steps into Web3 and the Metaverse

Mattel, a major toy company, has secured a multi-year deal with Cryptoys, an upcoming toy-focused non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace, to feature its brand exclusively on the platform.

Cryptoys is the flagship product of OnChain Studios, which has attracted funding from crypto-focused venture capital firms like Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and Dapper Labs. It is expected to go live in late summer 2022 on the Flow blockchain.

OnChain Studios also aims to build a Cryptoys metaverse as well as other play-to-earn games in which Mattel's intellectual property, including Barbie, Hot Wheels, and Masters of the Universe, will be turned into playable avatars.

OnChain Studios also wants to create a Cryptoys metaverse as well as other play-to-earn games in which Mattel's intellectual property, including Barbie, Hot Wheels, and Masters of the Universe, will be turned into playable avatars.

Mattel president and CEO Richard Dickson stated that the firm was the "first toy manufacturer to introduce NFTs" and that the company saw "incredible opportunity in the Metaverse for our cherished brands and iconic IP."

Cryptoys teased the partnership on Wednesday by publishing a mysterious 17-second video using some of Mattel's old product advertising on its Twitter account.

Mattel has previously experimented with NFTs, collaborating with the WAX blockchain to release a collection of Hot Wheels NFTs in October 2021. Mattel also auctioned three 1/1 NFTs in cooperation with French luxury brand Balmain in January 2022, netting the companies over $49,000 for all three.

Other toy makers have developed NFTs to capitalize on the rising demand and establish new revenue streams for their businesses, with the NFT market predicted to expand to roughly $800 billion over the next two years.

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