Hasbro's AI Characters
Hasbro's Sixth Wall AI Studio Licenses Iconic Characters for Guardrailed Interactive Experiences
Anonymous
Hasbro has launched its AI studio subsidiary, Sixth Wall, to let third parties use licensed Hasbro characters in next-generation, interactive experiences rather than unapproved AI depictions. Through its CharacterOS system and a new “Behavioral Licensing” model, Hasbro focuses on controlling how characters think, speak, and behave in real time, backed by approved source materials and recordings from real voice performers. The company is partnering with ElevenLabs to provide an initial roster of nearly a dozen characters—such as Optimus Prime, Megatron, Mr. Potato Head, Cobra Commander, and the cast of Clue—available via ElevenLabs’ Iconic Marketplace, with more expected to follow. Hasbro says it is responding to widespread unauthorized use of its IP on AI platforms and aims to offer a “trusted, authorized” version that stays within defined guardrails. Sixth Wall’s early efforts are aimed at users 13 and older and enterprise use cases, and the company says it is not currently developing AI products for young children. Overall, the initiative sets a B2B “creator-first” approach intended to compensate and involve talent while giving brands a compliant path to bring familiar characters into AI-enabled storytelling and play.
Key Points
1
Sixth Wall’s pitch includes “life-size” real-time character experiences—such as conversing with Optimus Prime and Megatron animatronics while waiting for theme-park rides, and an interactive Clue-style whodunit narrated by the cast—illustrating the kinds of next-generation contexts Hasbro says it can license and govern.
2
Sixth Wall CEO Roberta Thomson framed Behavioral Licensing as an alternative to “enforc[ing] on everything” (a “whack a mole” approach with “a bunch of cease and desists”) by offering what she described as an authorized, guardrailed version—an “end-to-end blue check version of the character” that licensed partners can deploy only in approved contexts.
3
Hasbro emphasized specific talent and voice credentials in the initial ElevenLabs-linked lineup—for example, Screendaily reported that Optimus Prime would be voiced by “Peter Cullen from the film adaptations.” It also said Sixth Wall would use a “talent participation model” tied to authorized recordings.
4
Axios reporting (via IndexBox) added examples of how the licensing model could translate into everyday interactions: Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks said it could make a “store greeting feel magical” or turn a “call waiting experience” into a moment with a favorite character—again underscoring the B2B “surfaces for play and storytelling” goal rather than new direct-to-consumer products.
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