From 2007-2010 kids focused virtual worlds were a must have in the toy industry and Animax worked on some of the biggest ones out there: Neopets, Petpet Park, Nickelodeon‘s world and more. We made games, created avatar animations, and built the frontend and backend of some of the largest persistent gaming experiences in the kids space.

For Ty, the makers of the famed Beanie Babies, we architected and built Beanie Babies 2.0 one of the largest virtual worlds that existed. Kids would buy a plush toy, scratch off to reveal a secret code and then use the code to enter an animated interactive experience complete with multiplayer gaming, social networking components and even microtransactions. Built with ActionScript3, Java, SmartFoxServer and a variety of other technologies, the virtual world let kids care for a virtual pet Beanie, chat safely with other kids, play dozens of games, decorate a virtual room and buy virtual items to personalize the experience. The initial virtual world was designed, animated, & programmed in two months and then maintained for a couple years with new features, games and avatars rolling out on a weekly basis. And not only did we support the launch of the Beanie Babies but we also were concurrently running Ty Girlz, another virtual world we built from the ground up that focused on girls virtual fashion dolls.

Animax also supported Ty’s ongoing marketing efforts around the brand launch making viral videos, social games and multiple campaigns including the 10th anniversary of McDonald’s Happy Meals that featured a Beanie Babies giveaway. Into 2014, Animax continues to work with Ty on a variety of its marketing efforts including building apps and distributing viral video.