Mind Candy CEO talks Moshi Monsters comeback: New mobile game, toys and merch are "all on the table"

British entertainment company Mind Candy is reviving Moshi Monsters with a mobile sequel planned for 2027.

Tapping into the power of highly marketable cartoony monsters, Moshi Monsters shot to success in the age of Flash games during the late 2000s, reaching more than 100 million players in over 150 countries during its original run.

At its peak, the online game was played by 50% of children between the ages of six and 12 in the UK and Australia, while one in three children played in the USA.

The brand also sold 90m toys and 170m trading cards.

Despite its huge success, Mind Candy shut down the Moshi Monsters game in 2019 ahead of Adobe Flash Player ending service. It’s been almost six years since then, and suddenly a tentative return may be upon us.

Getting the scoop about this British brand’s revival, adapting Moshi Monsters to a post-pandemic games landscape, and the tumultuous Kickstarter campaign sabotaged by a "malicious actor", we speak with Mind Candy CEO Christianne Amodio.

"Since closing the doors to Moshi Monsters in 2019, we have seen nostalgia for the game continue to grow, with fans constantly calling for us to bring it back," she shares.

"Having received hundreds of thousands of handwritten letters, emails and social media callouts, it was clear to us that the fans had still not given up hope that one day the game would come back."

One brand, two generations

Mind Candy co-founder Michael Acton Smith first conceived of Moshi Monsters in 2007 and it later debuted in 2008.

Since its 11-year run came to an end, the brand has survived with Gen Alpha through sleep app Moshi Kids and activities app Moshi Play, aimed at taming tantrums, teaching the alphabet and entertaining young children with activities like digital jigsaw puzzles. But without the flagship, there has been little steering that original Gen Z audience towards the franchise.

Thus, Mind Candy hopes to deliver a fully fledged Moshi Monsters game on mobile, coinciding with the 20th anniversary of its inception. This mobile game will be a sequel, not a remake, Amodio assures.

It was a decision made from the outset - that while preserving the heart of the original, and remaining respectful to it, the mobile game should also serve to evolve the brand and make use of modern capabilities.

The game is likely to be 2.5D or have stylised 3D environments, and inspiration is already being drawn from character-driven games like Hello Kitty Island Adventure and Animal Crossing.

However, Moshi Monsters will only return if a £250,000 Kickstarter goal is reached by August 15th, requiring fans to invest in the project to see it come to life.

"The idea for a Kickstarter came from a fan back in February when we received an email from him asking us to bring back his favourite childhood game. After speaking to him and hearing about what he would hope to see in a revival, we wanted to find a way to make it happen," Amodio reveals.

"We knew from the beginning that this needed to be more than a recreation. The game will be built in Unity, which gives our developers tools and creative possibilities that were not available in the Flash era."

The project promises nods to the classic for Gen Z veterans who enjoyed the original wave of web-based play. Amodio hopes to "delight" 2000s fans with returning characters like the karate-loving Katsuma and avid gardener Poppet.

The return will aim to blend nostalgia and innovation to deliver a classic look and feel but a modernised UI, with fresh illustrations that "honour the original". Several members of the original Moshi Monsters team are also still at Mind Candy and working on the comeback.

Furthermore, as a reference to Moshi Monsters’ original end, the premise of the sequel will see players return to Monstro City after it was wiped out by the "Flash-teroid". Players will then help to rebuild the city with familiar faces and save scattered Moshlings.

Mind Candy aims to bring back all Moshlings from the original game as well as those introduced in subsequent Moshi apps.

"With the 20th anniversary coming up in 2027, we felt that this was the perfect time to work with fans to reimagine the game both for original enthusiasts and a whole new generation yet to discover Moshi Monsters," Amodio explains.

"We want both audiences to love the new Moshi Monsters. This is a huge nostalgia hit for original fans, but also an opportunity for younger players to experience Moshi Monsters for the first time.

"We’ve seen how the Moshi Kids and Moshi Play apps have kept the brand alive with Gen Alpha. We want to build on the powerful emotional connection that both Gen Z and Gen Alpha have with Moshi."

Kickstarter comeback

Amodio shares that the decision to make the new Moshi Monsters a mobile game was made because of the accessibility the platform offers, making it "a great launchpad for the new era of Moshi Monsters".

While the initial release will be for Android and iOS, Amodio also reveals that PC and console versions may follow - though timeframes depend on Kickstarter stretch goals.

While £250,000 is needed to bring back Moshi Monsters on mobile, the target is £2m for the PC version and £2.5m for consoles.

As well as a new game, new toys and other types of merchandise are also "all on the table", while apparel and accessories are already available. Amodio suggests there is a "real appetite for Moshi merch".

As for why Mind Candy is relying on fan support for Moshi Monsters’ comeback, she reveals: "We started to explore the game concepts and agreed that the only way we could deliver a game the fans would love was by involving them in the process. It needs to be fan-backed and fan-guided.

"The Kickstarter allows us to do that by giving fans the chance to be involved from day one and unlock exciting rewards that shape the new direction of the game."

Fans can get involved by pledging £15 or more, earning them exclusive access to the Secret Moshling Society Discord where they can "guide the journey to bringing back Moshi Monsters". Such supporters will also be privy to a behind-the-scenes look at designs and concepts.

Comeback chaos

After the Kickstarter went live on June 16th, Mind Candy celebrated achieving its £250,000 goal within 24 hours. However, the company quickly discovered a "malicious actor" had contributed more than half of that target in fake pledges, sabotaging the campaign and derailing momentum.

Fans may now wrongly believe the goal has already been reached and Moshi Monsters’ return is guaranteed – meaning they wouldn’t need to support the project themselves. But this isn’t the case. Removing those faux pledges, at the time of writing the total raised stands at £91,000 across 1,669 backers.

"It was a heartbreaking moment when we realised that a large number of fake pledges had been submitted with the intention of misleading our community and derailing the momentum we’d worked so hard to build," Amodio reveals.

"As soon as we identified the issue, we reported the pledges to Kickstarter and they were removed immediately. The incident was deeply disappointing, but it has revealed the power and resilience of the Moshi Monsters community. The outpouring of support from fans has been incredible."

Amodio also notes that support hasn’t only been financial: messages of encouragement have also been received, which have "reminded us why we’re doing this".

Our interview ends on an optimistic note, with Amodio assuring that morale at Mind Candy remains high and that the incident has made the team even more determined to bring Moshi Monsters back. Along the way, she hopes to "excite industry talent" and expand the team developing the new game.

"We are still on track to bring our vision to life."