August's Collabs Corner: Talking Tom welcomes the Smurfs, Digimon land in AFK Journey, and more

Among the updates, announcements and marketing drives for mobile games, this bustling industry sees a never-ending flow of crossovers and collaborations.

Some partnerships see characters from one game IP enter another. Others see brands or logos show up in unexpected places. And, there are some that take place outside of the game entirely, especially when a celebrity’s involved.

With so many games and so many crossovers, it can be hard to keep track. So, here’s a roundup of the latest collaborations happening on mobile. Stay tuned for more updates.

Learn about collaborations and marketing strategies and make deals at our Pocket Gamer Connects events, such as PGC Nordics in Helsinki on October 20th and 21st.

Digimon everywhere

Bandai Namco and Lilith Games are celebrating the 27th anniversary of Digimon with a crossover event in AFK Journey.

Beginning August 18th, main characters from the original Digimon Adventure anime Taichi Yagami and Yamato Ishida will make appearances in-game alongside their partner Digimon Agumon and Gabumon, reimagined in AFK Journey’s storybook-esque artstyle.

This marks AFK Journey’s fourth crossover with a major IP, set to feature an original crossover story, event missions, Digivolving and more.

Bandai Namco’s new idle RPG Digimon Up also has a collaboration underway this month, in this case with its own IP. Characters Inori and Aegiomon from the latest console and PC release Digimon Story: Time Stranger have been added to the in-game gacha.

Players adding them to their ranks will grant their team a HP bonus and crit-based buffs.

Talking Tom meets the Smurfs

Potions, mushroom houses and some small blue residents have rocked up in Talking Tom’s neighbourhood in the new Talking Tom & Friends: World collab.

In fact, the whole Smurf Village has arrived, as Outfit7’s gone all in on iconic designs, magical activities, planting, potion mixing and more. Familiar characters like Papa Smurf, Smurfette and Azrael can be found during the crossover, meanwhile Smurfs-inspired fashion items will offer Talking Tom and pals a new look for the long haul.

By collaborating with the Smurfs, Talking Tom & Friends is continuing a conscious trend of partnering with IP that remain relevant across generations. Previous partnerships have included a crossover with Miraculous and Barbie.

Spider-Man swings in

From cinema screens to New York City to PUBG Mobile, Spider-Man has been web slinging everywhere you look lately. Now he’s arrived in a Scopely title too, surely quite at home in Marvel Strike Force.

The tentpole event Webs Assemble is running for the full month, introducing new playable content, challenges and exclusive rewards each week. It’s targeting new, returning and longtime players with features like a 40-floor Mega Tower and a simulation pitting Spider-Man against waves of enemies, culminating in a battle with Scorpion.

Players can also earn a Spider-Man costume directly inspired by Marvel Studios’ Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

When titans strike

A giant threat looms over Blood Strike throughout the month of August, as man-eating titans roam the map in a new collaboration with Attack on Titan.

Alongside a heap of heroes and villains like Eren Yeager, Mikasa Ackerman, Levi, the Armored Titan and the Beast Titan, NetEase has introduced the all-new Human vs Titan battle royale mode to mark the occasion. As humans, players can manoeuvre using Attack on Titan’s famous ODM gear, meanwhile Titan Shifters can transform into giants with powerful attacks.

Riffing off key scenes from the show, the Armored Titan has a powerful charge while the Beast Titan can overwhelm enemies by throwing boulders in AOE attacks.

Between the new mode, login events, themed missions, transformations and more, NetEase has styled this as Blood Strike’s "biggest anime crossover yet".

Honor of Kings meets Dan Da Dan

What happens when one of the world’s most lucrative mobile games teams up with one of Japan’s most popular modern anime?

The answer is Dan Da Dan’s arrival in Tencent’s Honor of Kings, complete with a special opening animation to set the scene for this supernatural collab. Limited-time events, collaboration skins, an exclusive rewards shop and more are also included, as players get busy exploring haunted locales and iconic UFO sites this August.

Dan Da Dan’s manga has sold over 10 million copies, while its anime adaptation ranked among the most-watched anime shows of the past two years on Netflix and Crunchyroll. The brand’s appearance in Honor of Kings comes ahead of its third season, confirmed for 2027.

Cats, kittens and celebrations

World Cat Day took place on August 8th and Zynga’s celebrating in style for the rest of the month with a feline focus in Farmville 3.

In a campaign called A Home for Every Kitten, players can complete farm chores to gather materials, craft tools and upgrade their rescue base over the course of four weeks, rescuing in-game kittens along the way.

There’s a real-world side to this too, as Zynga has partnered with Dots.eco to support pet rescue initiatives and global animal welfare. Fans who make in-game purchases during the event will directly contribute to the Dots.eco Support Rescued Pets initiative, and Dots.eco will send out official certificates to 5,000 participating players

Mental wellbeing gets reinforced

Talofa Games’ walking-based roguelike Monster Walk: Survive has been getting players exercising with an emphasis on physical wellbeing as well as mental health.

With that vision in mind, Talofa has teamed up with Six Wing Studios to bring the cartoony self-care pet Amaru to the game. This winged feline has been recreated in Monster Walk’s artstyle, now joining players on their walking journeys with its Wing Guard skill for support.

"We're excited to announce that Monster Walk: Survive is officially collaborating with Amaru: The Self-Care Pet. Both of our games share the same mission: helping you build healthier habits and take better care of yourself in fun, meaningful ways," Talofa Games posted on LinkedIn.

"Whether you're surviving shadow-filled adventures or nurturing your own self-care companion, this collaboration is all about celebrating wellness through play."

More games, more crossovers

Zenless Zone Zero’s idol group Angels of Delusion has made its way to the real world with a KFC collab. Three characters from the faction have been showing up in participating KFCs in China alongside merchandise. Alongside their meal, players can also pick up promotional in-game items.

Meanwhile, HoYoverse fans in the United States, Canada and select parts of Latin America who start a qualifying Crunchyroll membership or log into their established account can now claim a reward code for Genshin Impact. It’ll earn players an exclusive Neo Terminal: Floating Leaf Model gadget pet, 40 Primogems and other items.

The Pokémon Company has announced plans to bring its IP to the real world and beyond. These collabs haven’t kicked off yet, but the company will be teaming up with the European Space Agency for World Space Week this October. Come November, exclusive merchandise, a special Pikachu and all 27 starter Pokémon will show up in Singapore’s airports.

Also announced ahead of time, Cygames is sponsoring a baseball game between the Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals at Dodger Stadium on September 2nd.