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The firm behind Beasts of Balance and When In Rome will now operate as Niantic London.

Taking place at London’s Under the Bridge on Monday, September 2nd, the Play Creators Awards celebrate the achievements of the toy and game designer community, including R&D teams, freelance inventors and design agencies.

Created by Prospero Hall and Wonder Forge, and published by Ravensburger, Villainous is a card game that sees players step into the shoes of iconic Disney baddies.

“Having a day that’s focused on toy concepts and design is a great thing for the industry; it gathers good people and sparks good discussions,” said Character Options’ Jon Elliott.

“This investment will further deliver on Cartamundi’s purpose of sharing the magic of playing together towards consumers worldwide,” said Cartamundi CEO Stefaan Merckx.

“Considering recent toy unboxing trends, the brand’s multigenerational appeal, and the vehicle category’s ripeness for something ‘new’ again, we believe Micro Machines will be a global phenomenon,” said WCT’s Jeremy Padawer.

The party hosted a music quiz that saw the Toy World team emerge top of the tree.

“Our experience at last year’s Mojo Pitch was very satisfying, thanks to great organisation and a very good conversion rate in terms of concepts reviewed and agreed upon,” said Entertoyment director Josep Pastor.

Issues of eco-friendly design, ethical manufacturing and social sustainability will go under the microscope with Kids Industries’ Gary Pope, Ethical Toy Program’s Carmel Giblin, The Marketing Store’s Ben Poate and design consultant Erin Deighton.

Elsewhere, Carpe Diem, Detective and Wingspan will battle it out for the Kennerspiel des Jahres