PlayMonster announced the launch of its new line of building toys, "Snap Ships. “Snap Ships is so much more than a great toy line; it is a content-driven franchise that allows kids to not only build but also play, battle, rebuild, customize, watch content, engage with the app and then do it all over again,” said Tim Kilpin, PlayMonster’s new President. “We set out to change the building play experience, and it is the biggest launch in Play Monster’s history.”
The app, developed by Scott Pease and Jeff Swenty, AAA video game veterans "Tony Hawk," "Guitar Hero," "Call of Duty" and the inventors of "Snap Ships," is rated E for everyone, is available free of charge for iOS on the Apple App Store and Android via the Google Play Store. The "Snap Ships" fleet comes with 11 ships for retail prices, USD9.99–USD 39.99, each coming with a mysterious UJU tech piece. The line will become available on Amazon and Target, along with other retailers later this month. The toys are designed for kids ages 8 and up.
Wind Sun Sky, led by Catherine Winder, whose credits include Star Wars: The Clone Wars, The Angry Birds Movie, and Super Dinosaur contributed to the production of toys. “We knew right away that we wanted to be a part of Snap Ships because of its all-around potential,” said Winder. “We’re excited to partner with PlayMonster, one of the fastest-growing toy companies in the industry, to bring the Snap Ships story to life through creative content.”
The toy allows kids to build, battle, and display an exciting array of cool spacecraft, merging two of the biggest play patterns for boys action-play and construction. The storyline involves The Forge, an elite team assembled to pilot a fleet of versatile and specialized Snap Ships defense attack craft, and The Komplex, an alien species determined to annihilate all life, that has invaded with no warning. Along the way, The Forge discovers mysterious UJU tech, left behind by an ancient civilization, that can be added to their Snap Ships to give them unheard-of abilities.
Season one of the series, "Snap Ships Dawn of Battle" will launch this August on YouTube, with new episodes releasing each week. "To us, Snap Ships are more than toys, we imagine them as real, working spaceships,” said Pease. “The Snap Ships app brings that fantasy to life: summon life-sized ships in Augmented Reality, walk around them, test their weapons, and fly them into Battle.”