This weekend, Thatgamecompany kicked off the fifth anniversary celebrations of its Journey-like flight and collection MMO Heaven: Children of Light with a giant in-game screen like a Fortnite concert event. CEO Jenova Chen presented players with a list of upcoming features and improvements to the game—I’m unironically looking forward to a short list of the most popular emotes—but the big “one more thing” announcement at the end of the keynote was the game’s fall seasonal collaboration: Moomin.
I admit that I still know less than three things about Moomin, even after playing a bit Snufflepuff: Melody from Moominvalley Earlier this year, but I’m in the minority. The little hippo-shaped creatures and friends were originally created by Finnish artist Tove Jansson and are very popular around the world.
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“This season brings to life the touching story of Ninny, ‘the invisible child’, from the 1962 Moominvalley tales,” says Thatgamecompany, and the upcoming season “celebrates the importance of staying true to yourself and overcoming childhood obstacles.”
Thatgamecompany definitely has a habit of choosing stories that bring tears to your eyes, and this one seems to be no exception. Ninny is a girl who became invisible after being abused by her caregiver and is kidnapped to stay with the Moomin family, explains the official Moomin site.
“The Moomins welcome Ninny with open arms. She gets her own room in the attic and after her first night in the Moominhouse her feet are already visible. Moominmamma sews Ninny a dress and Ninny speaks for the first time since her arrival. Over time Ninny becomes more and more visible until all she is missing is her face.”
As with any free-to-play online game, Sky is no stranger to brand collaborations that bring with them a series of themed cosmetic microtransactions. There was a shorter event Dedicated to Cinnamoroll by Sanrio earlier this year and an entire season in 2021 is dedicated to the Little Prince.
This collaboration is still a long way off – autumn 2024, says TGC – so the very fast Trailer isn’t giving away what exactly it will include, but based on Sky’s past seasons of content and this brief reading of Ninny’s story, I’d guess there will be a new explorable zone, a series of quests, possibly with cameos from the Moomin family, and some of Ninny’s wardrobe items as unlockable cosmetics.
We’ll likely see the event kick off sometime in mid-October, after the Season of Duets, which just started today and runs until the end of September.
