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July 30, 2026Short & citedBlog
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How It Works • Games & Tech

Skylanders

Skylanders is a toys-to-life video game franchise developed by Toys for Bob and published by Activision.

Updated July 30, 20261 min readCited sources

Skylanders is a toys-to-life video game franchise from Activision. It uses physical figurines placed on the Portal of Power to bring characters into the game.

What it is

Skylanders is an Activision video game franchise built around collectible character figures that interact with games through the Portal of Power. It became one of the best-known toys-to-life series and introduced an expanded cast of playable Skylanders set in the world of Skylands.

How it works

The games use physical figures to represent playable characters. When a figure is placed on the Portal of Power, the game recognizes it and loads that character, allowing players to switch characters and use their abilities in play.

Setting and characters

The series is set in Skylands, a fantasy world of floating islands. The Skylanders are heroic defenders, each associated with one of several elemental types (Earth, Air, Fire, Water, Magic, Tech, Life, Undead, Light, Dark).

In short

  • Launched in 2011 with Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure.
  • Toys-to-life: physical figurines read by Portal of Power.
  • Set in the world of Skylands.
  • Annual mainline releases from 2011 to 2016.

Quick questions

What is Skylanders?
Skylanders is a toys-to-life video game franchise published by Activision in which physical figurines unlock playable characters in the game.
Who developed Skylanders?
The franchise was developed mainly by Toys for Bob, with later entries also involving Vicarious Visions.
What is the Portal of Power?
The Portal of Power is the accessory that reads Skylanders figures and transfers them into the game as playable characters.

Sources

  1. Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skylanders
    Supports: Franchise description, developer, publisher, elements, and toys-to-life concept
  2. Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skylanders:_Spyro's_Adventure
    Supports: First release, 2011 launch, Portal of Power gameplay, and initial platform availability
  3. Wikipedia (German) — https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skylanders
    Supports: Annual main-series releases, Skylands setting, and Portal of Power description
  4. Wikipedia (French) — https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skylanders
    Supports: Publisher, developers, release window, and main-series timeline