Skylanders Giants

Skylanders Giants is a 2012 toys-to-life action-adventure developed by Toys for Bob and published by Activision, released across Wii, Wii U, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Nintendo 3DS. The sequel to the genre-defining Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure, it continues the innovative format that fused physical toys with a video game: players place collectible character figurines onto a 'Portal of Power' peripheral, which brings those characters to life on screen, letting them be played, leveled up and saved directly to the toy. The story follows the heroic Skylanders, banished to Earth as toys, defending the magical realm of Skylands from the villainous Kaos. As its title suggests, Giants introduced a new class of larger 'Giant' figures with special abilities, alongside returning and new characters, while remaining backward-compatible with the original game's toys. Gameplay blends accessible cooperative action, platforming and light RPG progression aimed at younger players and families. Commercially a massive success, Skylanders Giants cemented the lucrative toys-to-life category that the series pioneered and which rivals like Disney Infinity and Nintendo's amiibo would soon chase. Well received for its charm and clever toy integration, it stands as a key entry in one of the most commercially significant franchises of its era. It helped sustain the lucrative toys-to-life craze that rivals such as Disney Infinity and Nintendo's amiibo would soon chase.