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BRISBANE game developer Halfbrick, the creator of Fruit Ninja, has landed an Australian-first deal to provide content for the YouTube Kids app.
Deputy Premier and Minister for Trade Jackie Trad met with representatives from YouTube in Singapore today to discuss the deal as part of her overseas trade mission.
"Halfbrick is a fantastic example of the calibre and creativity of Queensland's technology companies and it's exciting that YouTube is taking notice of the tremendous talent in our state," says Trad.
Ben Grubbs, Head of Kids and Learning at YouTube Asia Pacific, says Halfbrick was the first Australian Kids partner to receive funding from YouTube to create a new original series.
The content will be available through the YouTube Kids app in the US, with plans to expand to other countries in the future.
"We recognised the talent at Halfbrick and look forward to working with them to create original family-friendly content for YouTube," says Grubbs.
"This opportunity will bring further global exposure for this dynamic Queensland company."
Halfbrick's Vice President of Entertainment and Licensing Sam White said that under the deal the company would produce an initial 13 episodes of the animated series to be shown on its existing Fruit Ninja-themed YouTube channel.
"The show will be targeted at six-to-10 year olds, for co-viewing with their parents. It will also be accessible from within Halfbrick's Fruit Ninja games, which reach around 60 million users per month," Mr White said.
"We will also be producing a new compilation playlist, 'Fruit Ninja Nation', for which we will be reaching out to the YouTube community and our players for user generated content. It will be made up of Fruit Ninja-themed live-action shorts, documentaries, developer diaries and more."
Halfbrick launched the popular Fruit Ninja app in 2010 and it has since become one of the most downloaded games of all time on mobile phones reaching more than one billion downloads.
Pictured: Halbrick founder Shainiel Deo
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