Gamebud Talking Tom | Source: HUGE Play!/The Toy Book

The digital doors to Licensing Expo Virtual are open and HUGE! Play just dropped the curtain on its new interactive toy.

Based on Outfit7’s popular digital character, Gamebud Talking Tom is billed as “the world’s first audio-animatronic, smart game gear, which fuses gaming, interactive devices, and play into one packaged product.

“HUGE! Play was founded on a shared obsession to supercharge immersive play experiences and bring great stories and characters to life,” says HUGE! Play Founder and Co-CEO Kevin Mowrer. “Outfit7’s Talking Tom personality was the perfect license to launch our Gamebud technology, and a rare chance to bring the beloved brand to life in new and exciting ways.”

Related: HUGE! Play Preps GameBud Talking Tom for Fall

Talking Tom is the first Gamebud product in a planned line. According to HUGE! Play, the Gamebud Talking Tom is driven by artificial intelligence (AI) and will connect to the Talking Tom & Friends mobile games. The toy is designed to be a gaming companion and live streamer that contains more than 500 minutes of unique content. It can carry on conversations and perform different routines as a standalone toy when not connected to the app.

Gamebud Talking Tom will debut direct-to-consumer (D2C) in October at Gamebud.com (not yet live).

About the author

James Zahn

James Zahn

James Zahn, AKA The Rock Father, is Editor-in-Chief of The Toy Book, a Senior Editor at The Toy Insider and The Pop Insider, and Editor of The Toy Report, The Toy Book‘s weekly industry newsletter. As a pop culture and toy industry expert, Zahn has appeared as a panelist and guest at events including Comic-Con International: San Diego (SDCC) Wizard World Chicago, and the ASTRA Marketplace & Academy. Zahn has more than 30 years of experience in the entertainment, retail, and publishing industries, and is frequently called upon to offer expert commentary for publications such as Forbes, Marketwatch, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, USA Today, Reuters, the Washington Post, and more. James has appeared on History Channel’s Modern Marvels, was interviewed by Larry King and Anderson Cooper, and has been seen on Yahoo! Finance, CNN, CNBC, FOX Business, NBC, ABC, CBS, WGN, The CW, and more. Zahn joined the Adventure Media & Events family in 2016, initially serving as a member of the Parent Advisory Board after penning articles for the Netflix Stream Team, Fandango Family, PBS KIDS, Sprout Parents (now Universal Kids), PopSugar, and Chicago Parent. He eventually joined the company full time as a Senior Editor and moved up the ranks to Deputy Editor and Editor-in-Chief.

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