When I was at PAX Aus this year, I spotted everyone with these cube-like toys. They were strung onto bags, keys, costumes, and some people even just held whole bundles of them. What on Earth is going on? I thought. Somehow, in the middle of the PAX Aus Queue Hall, thousands of people became the first line of defense for an endangered species of tiny, strangely adorable voxel creatures called ÆRTHLINGS.
If you were anywhere near the Moose Toys booth this year, you probably saw the same thing I did: crowds forming before doors opened, people sprinting toward the same table each morning, and more than a few wide-eyed onlookers asking, “What are those cube things everyone is carrying around?”
Those “cube things” were ÆRTHLINGS, small physical toys that connect to a brand new—and free—mobile game. The aim of the game is simple, the last survivors of ÆRTH are relying on us to rebuild their world. Build and battle your way through the world in a community experience. Australia became the launchpad for this toy-tech experiment, and I had the chance to sit down with the creators to find out more.
Why Australia? Why PAX? The birthplace of a frenzy
The ÆRTHLINGS team didn’t come to Melbourne timidly; they came ready. What they didn’t expect was the level of enthusiasm that hit them.
Co-Founder and CEO of Modern Games, Justin Kifer, said the team had always wanted to launch one of their games at PAX Aus. For them, ÆRTHLINGS, fulfilled that dream:
The reception was unreal. We always wanted to launch at PAX. […] PAX Aus, it was always, you know, just phenomenal. There’s this community of gamers and also a lot of people who like to collect. And so we just knew that PAX was the right place.
And then we wound up connecting with Moose Toys, […] and then we realized that there’s also PAX, which was always our dream to launch at PAX. And we’re like, it all came together. We made it happen. And again, I could not have asked for a better group of people to launch ÆRTHLINGS with.
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The cubes are super colourful and a lot of fun. (Photo: TechAU)
Moose Toys is a Melbourne-based company, so this really is a match made in heaven. The partnership with Melbourne’s own Moose Toys made PAX Aus the natural first home for ÆRTHLINGS. But even the team didn’t expect the stock to be cleared, twice! As Kifer recounts:
We sold out twice, Saturday and Sunday. We had to go raid the Moose warehouse on Saturday night to get more stock. And people were hanging out, trading like crazy.
Fans kept coming back for more: first one, or two figures… then five… then whatever they could carry. I even spotted one lady who had bought roughly 30 packs to try and collect them all, and she did! Kifer said he saw similar scenes, calling it “phenomenal” as “people were wearing them around all over the place.”
Each box comes with a collector’s guide, cube, and lanyard. (Photo: TechAU)
The launch at PAX Aus dropped some limited edition cubes: Seed Series I ÆRTHLINGS. These were free cubes that were handed out at the hall, a total of four to claim. There are another 24 to collect in the Genesis series that launched at PAX Aus and soon after in stores.
The free Seed Series I came in packages, distinguishing them from the boxes that can be purchased. (Screenshot: TechAU)
PAX Aus is known for championing indies. There’s the Indie Showcase, and for the first time ever, half of that expo area put on display Indie tabletop games. The Indie Showcase has everything from the weird, the surprising, the creative experiments that might just become the next big thing. And Earthlings, with their nostalgia, futuristic, and magic vibe, absolutely slotted right in.
Four years in the making: From beasts of balance to a digital-physical hybrid
Kifer lights up when he talks about the origins of the project. ÆRTHLINGS was born from a simple question: how do you take the whimsy and tactile magic of games like Beasts of Balance (another of Modern Games’ titles), shrink the idea down, and make it something portable and affordable enough that anyone could jump in?
How can we take the magic of Beasts of Balance, which people absolutely love scanning the NFC tag and then having it hatch a creature inside of the world and the world come to life, and then miniaturise it, make it portable, make it mobile, bring the price down considerably.
Voxel art became the visual language of the cubes, making the look crisp, charming, and flexible. The first character, Lenosaur, the goofy cube-shaped dino, became the anchor. And from there the universe started to grow: the MOONLINGS, the shattered ÆRTH, and a gentle, exploration-driven game world inspired by the chill vibes of Minecraft. Everyone who downloads and starts the game receives a Lenosaur, regardless of whether they have a physical cube or not. So what do those physical cubes do?
Little cubes packed with big tech
Each ÆRTHLING figure looks simple. They are each a smooth, brightly coloured cube, with a small lanyard. But there’s more going on than you’d guess. They’re printed with a silky finish using a custom silicone process, and inside every toy sits a unique NFC tag with a serial ID. Kifer talks a little about the technology sitting within the NFC tag:
Each ÆRTHLING has an NFC tag inside that’s uniquely serialized. every ÆRTHLING has a unique serial number and data on it that tells us which species of character you have and then allows us to connect that particular fig to your player account so that then you own it, nobody else can take it from you unless you decide to trade it and you unlock it for trading and trade it with somebody else
When you scan the cube with the ÆRTHLINGS app, it “hatches” into its digital form. From there, as Kifer explains, you can trade the cube, and a new player can scan it. Since the ID is still tied to the original player, you both unlock powers, beacon boosts, and game interactions. The idea behind this is to encourage players to trade their cubes rather than leaving them to sit on a shelf.
As you scan more cubes, your ÆRTHLINGS collection will grow. (Screenshot: TechAU)
On the PAX floor, this trading philosophy was alive and buzzing. People were forming circles, swapping colours and creatures, comparing lineages and scanning histories. The Modern Games leadership teamed up with Laserbeam to have him scan a bunch of cubes in-game with his unique ID. Yes, that Laserbeam! One of his cubes reportedly hit around 28 trades before the weekend ended.
Trading: The heart of ÆRTHLINGS philosophy
ÆRTHLINGS is really built around this idea of trading in a way most NFC toy games never pulled off. When you trade a figure with someone, its digital “lineage” grows, thus a family tree forms, giving evolution boosts to your fig, which increases with the number of trades. The twist? The original scanner is always the permanent digital owner. Even if you pass the toy around, hatch it for a friend, or let someone else borrow it, you never lose your digital version, and everyone receives the bonuses and power ups.
The game gives off a lot of chill, zen vibes. (Screenshot: TechAU)
It’s the team’s way of removing all the fear around trading. No one’s losing anything; everyone gains something. And every trade boosts the toy’s lineage rewards for the players linked to it. Kifer said they played around with this idea for a while, and settled on something that gave everyone an incentive to trade:
for years, we had been playing around with this idea of NFC-enabled collectibles that get passed from player to player. And we really settled on trading as that core mechanic for physical play pattern amongst players. We really wanted to create the world’s best trading platform between like toy and game.
That’s also why the toys are cubes. They aren’t character-shaped figurines, where someone feels like they are losing something tangible. You’re not trading away a beloved pose or sculpt if you trade. Instead, you’re passing along a piece of the story.
Kifer said multiplayer, friend codes, and expanded social features are on the horizon coming soon, but the real-world community momentum is already building:
We feel the love from the community.
A free-to-play world that’s chill, bright, and surprisingly deep
The ÆRTHLINGS game itself is free to download, and everyone starts with Lenny the Lennisaur. The world is soft-edged, colourful, and designed to feel cozy rather than competitive. You explore the ruined but hopeful landscape of ÆRTH, activate your ÆRTHLINGS, and repair the damaged world.
Everyone who downloads the game receives Lenny the Lennisaur. (Screenshot: TechAU)
It’s the kind of game you can lose 20 minutes in without meaning to; wandering, collecting, listening to the gentle soundtrack, unlocking the mysteries of the beacon. And with the physical toys tying directly into your progress, the whole loop feels strangely personal. You can scan cubes into the game through the portals, and the more cubes you collect and trade, the more ÆRTHLINGS you can summon.
By scanning the cube in the game, you’ll receive that fig. (Screenshot: TechAU)
Perfect stocking stuffers: cute, affordable, and low-pressure
Here’s the sleeper hit angle, that’s perfect for this time of the year: ÆRTHLINGS are genuinely perfect stocking stuffers. At $10, they’re affordable, bright, tactile, and collectible without being overwhelming. Parents don’t have to commit to anything since the game is free, the toy works immediately. Your kid isn’t begging for microtransactions, and older collectors aren’t going to break the bank. It’s a physical present that unlocks a digital surprise, and the app is designed so even younger players can explore easily.
Honestly, they’re the kind of small gift that becomes someone’s favourite thing for the next six months. They can be purchased at stores likes EB Games, Big W, Toymate, and Target. You can check the Moose Toys website to see which retailers aren’t sold out, yet!
Mystery fig boxes can be purchased, and there are currently 24 to collect from the Genesis Series. (Photo: TechAU)
Currently, you can purchase the The Genesis Collection, where there are 24 cubes to collect. The Seed Series I were a special edition for the launch of PAX Aus. There were four of these to collect, and if you want one, you’ll need to find someone to trade with. It’s also worth noting that since the Seed Series are free cubes, there are limits as to how many you can scan into a single player’s account.
If you’re planning on grabbing some of these as stocking stuffers, or even bonbon alternatives, get in quick before they sell out. Some stores have already depleted their stocks.
ÆRTHLINGS: A growing universe with big plans
Whilst the current state of ÆRTHLINGS is a tonne of fun, they aren’t shy about where this is headed. With more Seed Series, more Genesis figures, new creatures next year, expanded game zones, and a growing narrative on the horizon, there’s lots to look forward to. And the game isn’t the only draw card. There are comics featuring Lenny, and an animated series is already pulling over a million views. And Modern Games are just getting started.
ÆRTHLINGS may have launched with tiny cubes, but the ecosystem around them is anything but small. PAX Aus didn’t just host a debut. It ignited a community.
ÆRTHLINGS blends toys, tech, story, and social play in a way that feels refreshingly earnest. If you missed them at PAX Aus, you can still snap up some Genesis cubes. But those who snagged a Seed Series I cube? You’ve got a piece of gaming history from the weekend ÆRTHLINGS took their first breath.
Download the app
—available on both iOS and Android—scan your cube, and jump into ÆRTH. The little creatures are counting on you.