Benzinga | Feb 2, 2021 09:02AM EST

JAKKS Pacific Reports Partnership With Warpster To Design, Market, Manufacture, Distribute Costumes, Costumes Accessories For Kirby Franchise, No Terms Disclosed

Disguise, Inc., the costume division of leading toy and consumer products manufacturer, JAKKS Pacific, Inc., today announced a new partnership with Warpstar to design, market, manufacture and distribute costumes and costume accessories for the Kirby franchise commencing in 2021. Warpstar is an IP management affiliate of Nintendo Co., Ltd. and HAL Laboratory, which was granted the rights to license Kirby IP on behalf of Nintendo and HAL Laboratory. Rights will include worldwide distribution with the exclusion of Japan.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210202005179/en/

Kirby (Graphic: Business Wire)

Costumes and accessories will be created in the style of the original Kirby from the video games and television animated series. The Kirby IP is co-owned by Nintendo and HAL Laboratory, Inc. with HAL Laboratory, Inc working with Nintendo to create Kirby software. The game series includes 35 games and has sold approximately 74M units worldwide. Kirby is also one of the top 50 bestselling video game franchises of all time. The critically acclaimed animated series "Kirby: Right Back at Ya!" included 4 seasons and 100 episodes.

"The demand for gaming-themed products has exploded in recent years, and Disguise is the worldwide leader in licensed video game costumes," said Tara Hefter, EVP and GM of Disguise, Inc. "The addition of Kirby is a natural fit for our portfolio, as Kirby is part of the Nintendo family and Disguise has been the costume partner of Nintendo since 2013. We are excited to expand our offering of Super Mario, Zelda and Animal Crossing characters with Kirby, and to bring this adorable pink character to life! The popularity and worldwide recognition of Kirby in pop culture merged with Disguise's high-quality costumes will be sure to be a hit with fans globally."

"We work with licensees in a highly collaborative capacity, not only managing quality but also exchanging ideas and creative solutions throughout the design and development process. Disguise has shown time and time again the innovative solutions they bring to the table and that quality is at the heart of what they do. We are excited to be working with them on these new Halloween styles for Kirby and bringing them to market in 2021." -- Warpstar merchandising team

Owned by JAKKS Pacific, Inc (NASDAQ:JAKK), Disguise is the top design and manufacturer of licensed video game costumes in the world. Disguise's new line of Kirby costumes and accessories will be available online, at major retailers and Halloween specialty stores Fall of 2021.