Activision extends Skylanders licensing deals for food, books, comics and more

Activision is continuing to license out rights for its phenomenally successful Skylanders franchise, extending the brand to products like cereal, magazines and coloring books, the publisher announced today during Licensing Expo 2014.

Activision already works with more than 175 different licensing partners for Skylanders, the $2 billion toys-to-life series that will receive a fourth entry, Skylanders Trap Team (screenshot above), this October. One of those companies is the food giant General Mills, which already produces Skylanders-shaped fruit snacks. The company will begin an eight-week program in February 2015 that will put Skystones, the minigame from 2012's Skylanders Giants, on the backs of cereal boxes in North America. And a brand campaign for General Mills' Go-Gurt and Trix Yogurt Cups will feature Skylanders starting this September.

Immediate Media, publisher of Top Gear magazine, will launch an official Skylanders magazine in the U.K. this fall, and plans to bring it to additional regions in 2015. Earlier this year, IDW Publishing announced that it will release the first official Skylanders comic book this summer as a prequel to Trap Team. The 16-page first issue is set to debut during Comic-Con International 2014. And Crayola's partnership with Activision will continue next spring with Skylanders-branded coloring books under the Xtreme Coloring and Activity Pad product lines.

"We are delighted that many of the world's leading brands are collaborating with us on meaningful programs that let our fans engage with the Skylanders brand in ways that didn't exist three years ago," said Ashley Maidy, vice president of global licensing and partnerships for Activision Publishing, in a press release today. A year ago, Activision announced during Licensing Expo 2013 that its Skylanders licensing arrangements — which numbered approximately 150 at the time — had helped make the company one of the top licensors in the world.

For more on Skylanders Trap Team, which is set for release Oct. 5 on Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360 and Xbox One, check out our preview from E3 2014.