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Fangamer — Grokipedia Fact-checked by Grok 3 months ago Fangamer Ara Eve Leo Sal 1x Fangamer is an American video game merchandise company founded in 2007 by a group of friends from the EarthBound fan community and headquartered in Tucson, Arizona . [1] It specializes in creating and selling official licensed products inspired by indie and retro video game s, such as apparel, plush toys, pins, books, prints, stickers, and physical editions of games like Undertale and Stardew Valley . [1] Originally launched as an online store in August 2008 with a small selection of fan-made items, the company has grown into a key partner for game developers, producing high-quality merchandise that celebrates gaming culture. [1] [2] The company traces its roots to Starmen.Net, a long-running online forum dedicated to the EarthBound series, where co-founders Reid Young (CEO) and Ryan Alyea first collaborated on fan projects. [3] [4] Starting with unofficial merchandise to support the fan site, Fangamer transitioned to licensed products in the early 2010s through partnerships with developers like those behind Papers, Please and Shovel Knight . [1] [5] By 2015, it achieved a milestone by backing the record-breaking Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night Kickstarter campaign and began publishing physical game editions, beginning with Undertale in 2017. [1] Operations expanded from a home-based setup to dedicated offices, culminating in the purchase of a building in 2016 and a new facility in 2020 to handle growing demand. [1] Fangamer's product line emphasizes artistic, durable items that appeal to gamers, including innovative accessories like the Flip Grip controller holder and event-specific merchandise for conventions such as PAX East and charity speedruns like Games Done Quick . [1] [6] It has hosted Camp Fangamer, an annual convention celebrating indie games since 2015, and continues to collaborate on projects like Deltarune newsletters and OFF ports as of 2025. [1] [7] With a focus on community and quality, Fangamer ships worldwide from its Tucson base and remains unfunded, operating independently while generating millions in annual revenue through e-commerce . [8] [9] History Origins and Founding Fangamer's roots lie in the EarthBound fan community, particularly through Starmen.net, an online forum founded in the late 1990s by Reid Young and collaborators such as Clyde "Tomato" Mandelin to foster discussions, fan art, and events centered on the Nintendo game EarthBound . [10] [11] The site began as a modest fan page in 1997, evolving into a vibrant hub that hosted annual conventions starting in 2001 and built a dedicated following despite the game's cult status. [10] [12] In 2007, Reid Young, along with associates Ryan Alyea and Jon Kay , formally founded Fangamer LLC in Tucson, Arizona , initially operating from Young's spare bedroom, with the primary goal of selling fan-created merchandise like T-shirts and mugs to offset the operational costs of Starmen.net. [10] [12] These early items featured original designs inspired by EarthBound characters and themes, avoiding direct use of official logos to minimize legal risks, and were launched through print-on-demand platforms such as CafePress , which quickly proved popular among the community. [12] The company encountered significant early hurdles, including constrained production scales due to reliance on third-party print-on-demand services, which limited inventory and customization options, as well as ongoing concerns over intellectual property infringement from Nintendo . [12] In 2008, Young approached Nintendo directly with sales data to seek vendor status, receiving a response that, while not granting explicit licensing for retro titles, was interpreted as tacit permission to continue with EarthBound -themed products, enabling Fangamer to shift toward more official-feeling merchandise without immediate shutdown threats. [10] [12] This pivotal transition solidified Fangamer's position as a bridge between fan passion and commercial viability. Expansion and Milestones In the mid-2010s, Fangamer expanded its operations by taking on fulfillment responsibilities for Kickstarter-backed projects, including merchandise for Double Fine's Broken Age in 2014 and the highly successful Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night campaign in 2015, which raised over $5 million and marked one of the platform's largest gaming efforts at the time. [5] [13] [14] A pivotal breakthrough came in 2015 with the launch of official Undertale merchandise, coinciding with the game's rapid rise in popularity; items sold out within hours of release, leading to immediate sales surges and prompting Fangamer to secure broader licensing deals with indie developers. [5] This success fueled a shift from niche fan goods to a more robust merchandise lineup, dramatically changing the company overnight, as founder Reid Young noted. [5] establishing Fangamer as a key partner for emerging titles. Key operational milestones followed, including the 2016 purchase of a dedicated building in Tucson, Arizona , to accommodate growing inventory and shipping needs. [15] International shipping capabilities expanded in 2018, enabling broader global reach for customers beyond the U.S. [1] Revenue growth during this period supported the transition to a larger full-time staff of approximately 40-50 employees by 2019, allowing for in-house production like screen printing and design. [5] In 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic , Fangamer moved into a new office building to support further growth. [1] The company implemented mandatory remote work for all non-mailroom roles to ensure employee safety, while maintaining e-commerce operations with adjusted shipping timelines of up to two weeks. [16] This pivot sustained sales through online channels, as demand for video game merchandise remained strong amid widespread lockdowns. [16] Merchandise Product Categories Fangamer's merchandise primarily encompasses apparel, collectibles, books and art prints, soundtracks, and accessories, all inspired by video game themes and designed to appeal to gaming enthusiasts. [17] Apparel includes T-shirts, hoodies, jackets, and other clothing items featuring game motifs, often in limited-edition runs that capture the aesthetic of specific titles. [18] Collectibles comprise plushes, pins, and figures, with an emphasis on high-quality replicas that evoke nostalgic or pixelated game elements from retro and indie games. [19] Books and art prints form another key category, offering official art books, guidebooks, posters, and prints that delve into game lore and artwork, frequently produced in collaboration with game developers. Soundtracks are available on vinyl records and CDs, showcasing original game music in collector-friendly formats like boxed sets or limited pressings. [20] Accessories round out the lineup with items such as hats, stickers, bags, and keychains, providing practical yet thematic extensions of game universes. The company's production emphasizes custom and limited-edition designs, often replicating pixel art styles from classic or retro games to maintain authenticity and exclusivity. [17] An in-house design team, including graphic designers and illustrators, handles much of the creative process, collaborating with external artists to ensure merchandise aligns closely with game visuals. [21] Fangamer employs a direct-to-consumer sales model through its online store at fangamer.com, supplemented by occasional pop-up shops and booths at gaming conventions such as PAX East. [22] Collaborations and Licenses Fangamer's collaborations and licenses have evolved significantly since its inception, transitioning from producing fan-inspired merchandise without official approvals to securing formal partnerships with game developers and publishers, particularly in the indie sector. Initially focused on EarthBound-themed items that were unofficially tolerated by Nintendo due to the lack of competing products, the company began pursuing official licenses around 2014 with titles like Shovel Knight , marking a shift toward legitimacy and exclusivity. By 2016, approximately 90-99% of Fangamer's catalog consisted of licensed products, reflecting a deliberate move to support creators through authorized designs while mitigating legal risks associated with fan-made goods. [5] [1] A cornerstone of this evolution has been Fangamer's deep partnerships with indie developers, enabling the creation of exclusive merchandise tied to popular titles. The collaboration with Toby Fox for Undertale , beginning in 2015 shortly after the game's release, exemplifies this approach; Fangamer worked directly with Fox to develop apparel, plush toys, and soundtracks, resulting in rapid sell-outs that underscored the merchandise's role in amplifying the game's success. Similar dynamics apply to Deltarune , with merchandise beginning in 2018 following the release of Chapter 1 and continuing with Chapter 2 in 2021 , where Fangamer continues to produce official items in close consultation with Fox, including apparel lines featuring game-specific motifs. These partnerships often involve revenue-sharing models, where developers receive a portion of sales to fund ongoing projects, with Fangamer managing production, distribution, and anti-counterfeit efforts to protect the IP. [5] [23] [5] Fangamer has also secured licenses for other indie hits, such as Celeste in 2018 and Hollow Knight in 2017, allowing for bespoke designs like character plushes and art prints developed in tandem with studios like Extremely OK Games and Team Cherry. These agreements emphasize creative input from developers to ensure authenticity, often starting with small runs of exclusive items before scaling based on demand. For instance, Hollow Knight 's merchandise line includes developer-approved figurines and posters that capture the game's atmospheric essence without infringing on broader IP restrictions. In addition to ongoin