I didn't expect my favorite cozy MMO to do a crossover with a Finnish children's series
If I were a Moomin fan I probably should have guessed it.
This weekend, Thatgamecompany kicked off celebrations for the fifth anniversary of its Journey-like flying and collecting MMO Sky: Children of the Light with a giant in-game screen à la a Fortnite concert event. CEO Jenova Chen presented players with a list of upcoming features and improvements to the game—I'm unironically psyched for a favorite emotes quick list—but the big "one more thing" announcement at the end of the keynote was the game's autumn seasonal collaboration: Moomin.
I'll admit I still know less than three things about Moomin even after playing a bit of Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley earlier this year, but I'm in the minority there. Originally created by Finnish artist Tove Jansson, the little hippo-shaped creatures and friends are rather beloved worldwide.
"This season brings to life the touching tale of Ninny, 'The Invisible Child,' from the 1962 Tales of Moominvalley," Thatgamecompany says, and that the upcoming season "celebrates the importance of being true to yourself and overcoming obstacles from childhood."
Thatgamecompany definitely has a habit of picking tearjerker stories and this sounds like no exception. Ninny is a girl who became invisible after being mistreated by her caretaker and gets spirited away 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 already after her first night in the Moomin house her feet are visible. Moominmamma makes Ninny a dress, after which Ninny speaks for the first time since her arrival. As time passes, Ninny becomes more and more visible, until it is just her face missing."
Like any online free-to-play game, Sky's no stranger to brand collabs that bring a suite of themed cosmetic microtransactions. It had a shorter event dedicated to Cinnamoroll of Sanrio fame earlier this year and a whole season dedicated to The Little Prince in 2021.
This collaboration is still a ways off—fall 2024, TGC says—so the very quick teaser trailer doesn't let on exactly what it will entail. But based on Sky's past content seasons and that quick read of Ninny's story, I'd guess it will bring a new explorable zone, a set of quests possibly with Moomin family cameos, and some of Ninny's wardrobe items as unlockable cosmetics.
We'll likely see the event kick off sometime in the middle of October after the Season of Duets which just launched today and runs through the end of September.