Modern Games has announced that its toys-to-life title Ærthlings has reached 100,000 figures sold since launching eight months ago. The studio, led by founder Justin Kifer, reports that more than half of those customers have returned to make repeat purchases, a metric Kifer identifies as the primary indicator of the game's health.

Quick Facts

  • Sales Performance: Over 100,000 Figs sold; 70,000 in Australia and 30,000 in the U.S.
  • Platforms: Currently available on mobile, with a PC expansion planned for later in 2026.
  • Developer: Modern Games, a 20-person remote studio.
  • Audience: 75 percent of players are 16 or older, with over half of the player base between 25 and 45.

The Mechanics of Trading and Lineage

The core of Ærthlings revolves around the "Fig," a physical blind-box collectible equipped with an NFC tag. Scanning a Fig hatches a digital character with unique stats and visual traits. Unlike previous toys-to-life franchises, trading a Fig does not result in the loss of progress. The original owner keeps their hatched character, and the new owner gains the ability to hatch their own unique character from the same physical item.

This creates a "lineage" system where every subsequent owner is linked. To prevent abuse of the reward system, Modern Games has implemented a permanent restriction: once a Fig is scanned and hatched, it cannot be received back into a trade. Kifer notes that this keeps fresh inventory circulating within the ecosystem.

Development and Community Growth

Modern Games, which acquired the tabletop game Beasts of Balance in 2020, designed Ærthlings with an in-universe narrative about a destroyed Earth and the "Moonlings" who caused the collision. This lore is supported by a 10-episode animated series and companion comics.

The studio’s Discord community has grown to over 1,500 members, with fans creating 3D-printed accessories and handmade merchandise. While the game was originally targeted at the 10-to-14 age demographic, the studio found that its actual player base leans significantly older, with a strong contingent of adult collectors.

Future Expansion

Looking ahead, Modern Games is preparing for the release of the "Ascension Series" of Figs and a PC expansion, both of which were funded by a recent Kickstarter campaign that averaged approximately $300 per backer. While Kifer expects the toys-to-life category to see new entrants if Ærthlings continues to scale, he confirmed that the studio has patents pending regarding its specific trading and lineage technology.