The First Solve to Survive Puzzle, Exclusive to Skybound Insiders, Drops in Late May
LOS ANGELES – May 8, 2024 – Skybound Entertainment, the creator-focused, multiplatform entertainment company behind mega-hit franchises The Walking Dead and the Rotten Tomatoes “100% Certified Fresh” adult animated series Invincible, have partnered with tech company Those Beyond to pioneer an immersive form of fan engagement through a trilogy of cryptic puzzles called The Walking Dead: Solve to Survive, centered around Robert Kirkman’s iconic IP, exclusively for the company’s fan loyalty program Skybound Insiders.
This will be the first global franchise on Those Beyond’s social gaming platform where fans will engage in ‘Mass Community Play’ to connect with one another through role-play, interactive chat, and puzzle-solving activities. The first game launches in late May on Skybound Insiders, with the subsequent two games arriving in June and July, culminating in activations at Comic-Con International: San Diego (SDCC). Throughout the three months, participants will have the opportunity to win exclusive The Walking Dead prizes, limited edition merch, and unlock Skybound Insiders points.
Skybound has a proud history of community engagement with their nearly 100 million fans, from showcasing at globally attended conventions like SDCC, New York Comic Con, PAX East, Gen Con, and more, to offering exclusive perks, content, and access to creators through their newly minted Insiders loyalty and engagement program, a tier-style loyalty program to build and amplify fandom. The program is free to join and based entirely on engagement, i.e. the more a user engages in and shares Skybound content, like trailers, articles, comic book first-looks, and other exclusive media, the more value they earn in the form of points toward cool perks, access to events and opportunities to engage with the creators they love.
“It is rare to witness a new way for fans to engage in the worlds they love that creates a space for them to stay long-term, and we’re elated to be doing that through Insiders and our partnership with Those Beyond. Solve to Survive will be the first real immersive gaming experience on the Insiders platform, and we couldn’t be more excited to see how the fans react. We first saw Those Beyond’s technology last year – we all agreed that ‘if we are all enjoying this in Skybound HQ, then our fans are going to just love it,’” said Will Kassoy, Head of Consumer Strategy at Skybound.
Mark Warrick, CEO of Those Beyond, said, “Our goal is to create social spaces that feel as captivating as the IPs they’re based on. The wait time for fans between the next TV series or blockbuster film can be years and a fan base yearns to still be a part of their favorite worlds over this dormant time. We are cultivating a long-term social destination for audiences to be immersed within and couldn’t be happier over 2024 to pioneer it alongside Skybound with their groundbreaking IPs.”
Fans can sign up to be the first to receive updates about the games, as well as ensure early access by registering as a Skybound Insider now.
ABOUT THE WALKING DEAD
On October 8, 2003, The Walking Dead #1 debuted in comic shops and began a historic run from creator Robert Kirkman that would change the face of pop culture. For nearly sixteen years, The Walking Dead rewrote the rules of comic book storytelling, including its surprise ending at issue #193, and has since expanded to include special one-shots, graphic novels, video games and an unprecedented hit television franchise on the AMC network. The franchise continues to grow in new directions, from the Clementine YA graphic novels by superstar Tillie Walden to dynamic interactive experiences like The Walking Dead: The Last Mile and further expansion of AMC’s The Walking Dead universe.
ABOUT SKYBOUND INSIDERS
Skybound Insiders is a tier-style loyalty program to build and amplify fandom. The program is completely free to join, and no purchases are required to move up tiers. The program is based entirely on engagement, i.e. the more users engage with us, are part of our community, spread/share their fandom, the more value we provide them by giving them cool perks, bringing them closer to the process and closer to the creators they love.
ABOUT THOSE BEYOND
Those Beyond are a London-based social gaming company of industry veteran designers, engineers and writers building the Arise Engine — a platform pioneering the future of fandom through endless Mass Community Play. In September 2021, the company spun out of UK tech unicorn Thought Machine and has since been funded through venture capital investment, having raised $8m from Europe’s leading funds Cherry Ventures, Seedcamp, Cassius, Playfair Capital and IQ Capital.
