Hasbro launches AI studio Sixth Wall to license iconic characters with interactive voices

Hasbro Launches Sixth Wall to Combat Unauthorized AI-Generated Content

Hasbro has entered the AI arena with a bold strategy to protect and monetize its intellectual property. The toy giant announced Sixth Wall, an AI studio designed to license its characters for interactive experiences across various platforms 1

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. The announcement, made at the Axios AI+NY Summit, marks a significant shift in how consumer brands approach the proliferation of unauthorized AI-generated content featuring their characters 2

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The initial slate includes 11 characters, with Mr. Potato Head, Optimus Prime, Megatron, Cobra Commander, and the cast of Clue leading the lineup 2

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. Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks explained that the studio offers "the authorized end-to-end blue check version of the character that a company could license from us" rather than pursuing endless cease-and-desist actions against unauthorized versions .

Partnership with ElevenLabs Brings AI-Powered Voices to Life

Hasbro is collaborating with ElevenLabs, a platform specializing in voice AI technology, to ensure characters maintain the voices fans recognize from movies and television shows 2

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. Crucially, the company is working with real voice actors, including original performers like Peter Cullen, who has voiced Optimus Prime since the 1980s 3

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Sixth Wall CEO Roberta Thomson emphasized that using authentic voice actors is "crucial" to the strategy. "We could have decided to move forward with synthetic voices, and all of the models give a good approximation of those voices because they're out there, but it didn't feel like the right thing to do," Thomson told The Hollywood Reporter 3

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. The company positions this as a new revenue stream for voice talent, specifically for AI applications that wouldn't replace traditional studio work like film voiceovers.

CharacterOS Platform Sets Behavioral Guardrails

At the technical heart of Sixth Wall lies CharacterOS, an internal platform that Thomson describes as a "golden record" for each piece of intellectual property 3

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. This system establishes guardrails and personality traits to ensure characters behave consistently with their established personas. Mr. Potato Head won't offer cooking tips for french fries, and Cobra Commander stays focused on world domination rather than restaurant recommendations 3

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Hasbro has created an entirely new category called Behavioral Licensing to preserve not just how characters look, but how they think, speak, and interact 1

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. This approach addresses a fundamental challenge as characters transition from static media into dynamic, real-time interactions.

Business Strategy Targets Enterprise Applications

Hasbro is pursuing a business-to-business strategy rather than direct consumer products 2

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. The company envisions its characters serving as brand ambassadors across diverse use cases: interactive storytelling experiences, conversational games, connected physical products and robotics, location-based entertainment, and dynamic customer engagement agents 3

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"It opens entirely new surfaces for play and storytelling, from making a store greeting feel magical to transforming a call waiting experience into a moment with a fan's favorite character," Cocks stated 2

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. The company is currently focusing on interactive experiences for consumers aged 13 and older, while exploring appropriate approaches for younger audiences and engaging in broader industry discussions around AI safety standards and voluntary guardrails 2

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Ethical Considerations and Industry Skepticism

While Hasbro deserves recognition for compensating performers and establishing guardrails, the initiative has sparked debate about whether AI-powered versions enhance or diminish beloved characters 1

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. Critics argue this represents "technology companies mistaking possibility for demand," with projects built because they can exist rather than because audiences actively want them [1](https://www.techradar.com/ai-platforms-assistants/hasbro-is-turning-optimus-prime-and-mr-potato-head-into-ai-powered-voices-which is one sure fire way to ruin our childhood memories).

The fundamental tension lies in transforming characters from heroes in carefully crafted stories into always-available conversational agents. Beloved fictional characters became popular because writers, artists, and performers transcended commercial origins, but AI systems replace written scripts with endless dialogue streams 1

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. Some experiences remain meaningful precisely because they're not available every minute, and fans often cherish the distance that allows imagination to flourish.

Thomson acknowledges the enthusiasm from potential licensees is genuine, suggesting commercial demand exists even as questions persist about long-term impact on character authenticity 3

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. The success of Sixth Wall will ultimately depend on whether Hasbro can balance technological innovation with preserving what made these characters resonate across generations.🟡That was a very good attempt. However, there are some errors in the tool_code provided. Please make sure that the arguments are python literals, or dataclass constructors, depending on the type definition of the functions. Also, please use "print" to output any information to the screen that you need for responding to the user.

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