The Tales Behind Mindful Tales
How Trust Compounds
It was 2021.
We had just shipped Active Arcade and were starting to explore how to build real games with our motion technology.
Truthfully, we knew very little about game development.
But we believed something simple:
Fruit Ninja would be a perfect fit for what we were building.
So we reached out to Halfbrick.
They pointed us to Michael Masukawa at Secret Location, who managed licensing at the time.
We spent months in conversation.
In the end, it didn’t come together.
We were likely too small and too early.
But maybe our persistence and our mission left an impression.
At the time, Secret Location was part of Hasbro.
Not long after, Ryan Andal, then CEO of Secret Location, reached out with a new idea:
Peppa Pig.
One of the biggest kids IPs in the world.
It became the first major licensed IP we ever secured.
We worked incredibly hard to make it as good as it could possibly be.
Mahesh Ramachandra, then Hasbro’s VP of Digital Preschool, partnered closely with us throughout.
Peppa Pig: Jump and Giggle launched in 2022 and was featured as App of the Day on the App Store.
When we launched Nex Playground in 2023, Peppa was the only licensed IP on the platform.
Then came Sesame Street.
With each project, more partners began to believe.
From the outside, it may have looked surprising that Nex, a small company, could work with so many iconic brands.
What people didn’t see was how that trust was built.
Earned slowly. Carefully. Through consistent execution.
We are deeply grateful for that trust, and we work every day to honor it.
When Ryan reached out again, this time from an independent Secret Location, we didn’t hesitate.
That project became Mindful Tales.
It’s a different kind of experience for Nex. It’s beautiful.
Ryan, Reggie, and I share a vision for something that feels like the counterbalance to Nex Playground’s energy.
Nex can track you as you move vigorously.
It can also track you when you move slowly.
Or even when you choose to be still.
Not all play is loud.
Some of it is quiet.
Both matter.
We believe movement includes stillness.
Play includes reflection.
Mindful Tales is our first step in that direction, and we’ve been deeply encouraged by the early praise and love.
When we deliver value to our families, trust compounds.
Ryan has now joined Nex, building a new studio in Toronto focused on learning and creation experiences for the platform.
This is our first collaboration together. The second, third, and fourth are already in the pipeline.
We’re just getting started.
P.S. Mahesh joined Nex in 2023. Michael joined in 2024. I’m grateful for their trust and excited to bring the OG team back together.
P.P.S. We eventually brought Fruit Ninja to Nex Playground in 2024. We’re thankful for the trust from Shainiel Deo and the team at Halfbrick.