Mainbot, creator of the first educational game metaverse, The Winkyverse, announces its partnership with IMPS, holder of the Smurfs worldwide license.
What is the Winkyverse
The Winkyverse is a warm, welcoming and accessible area that caters to all audiences, adults, children and families. It’s a world where humans and nature co-exist in harmony, and where players can grasp the importance of cooperation and gathering knowledge in protecting the environment through a vast option of playable quests that are both fun and educational.
The universe’s dedication to environmental preservation has also led The Winkyverse and Mainbot to adhere to the same principles in their development and operations. This includes building the use of a future blockchain that is as carbon neutral as possible, creating an ethics committee to oversee the metaverse experiment, and finally, creating a foundation that would donate 2% of benefits of The Winkyverse to organizations that focus on the environment, education and child development.
The iconic, blue, endearing little characters known as The Smurfscreated by Peyo, will turn 65 in 2023. Known for their educational values, the Smurfs have served as a vehicle to spread joy, positivity, team spirit and environmental awareness for decades.
They entered the metaverse in 2020, and today continue their journey by becoming the first co-owners of land in Pomokata, the first biome of the Winkyverse. The possession of this land by the Smurfs marks the beginning of a partnership that is not only playful and creative, but also responsible.
Sale of public lands
The Smurfs’ entry into The Winkyverse also happens as part of another major upcoming event: The first public land sales on winkyverse.io on November 22nd at 12pm ET. A previous private sale took place last September and saw 50% of all available land sold within the first hour. This time around, land sales can also be made in fiat (via card payments in traditional currencies like Euros or Dollars), or WNK tokens (the virtual currency used in-game).
“The Smurfs exemplifies the collaboration, mutual respect and desire to learn that we aim to create with our gaming experience. The entry of this famous brand recognized and loved around the world is an important step in our development of The Winkyverse. Additionally, the ability to use fiat payment methods will allow us to make the metaverse even more accessible,” said Boris Kesler, CEO of Mainbot.
“We are thrilled about this new partnership with The Winkyverse. We know the Smurfs hold a special place in children’s hearts, so driving educational content is really important to us. You can play and learn in the metaverse, what illustrates the Smurfs better than that? » said Fabienne Gilles, Head of Consumer Products and Business Development at IMPS.
About Mainbot
Founded in Paris in 2017, Mainbot is the creator of Winky, a smart companion toy robot suitable for the whole family. Paired with a variety of apps, this robot provides both fun and educational gameplay for kids. To date, Winky is present in more than 20,000 homes.
Mainbot recently raised 24.5 million euros to build The Winkyverse, the first educational metaverse that is immersive, rich in experiences and fun for adults and children alike.
About Peyo, LAFIG Belgium/IMPS (International Merchandising Promotions & Services)
IMPS, in collaboration with LAFIG Belgium, are the official licensors of the small blue characters “The Smurfs”. Over the years, IMPS has worked closely with its agents around the world to successfully develop licensed merchandising, retail and co-branded promotions, publishing activities, broadcast deals, parks theme, live shows and family entertainment centers that have ensured the everlasting success of The Smurfs. IMPS is run by Véronique Culliford, the daughter of Pierre Culliford, the creator of the Smurfs, better known by his pseudonym Peyo. Véronique has been managing IMPS since 1984 and, together with LAFIG Belgium, controls the rights to Smurf characters and Smurf licenses worldwide.