Muus Collective soft launches Bellemint mobile fashion game

Muus Collective announced today that its Bellemint fashion styling mobile game is going into soft launch today in the U.S. The game is launching as part of a partnership with Revolve Group and Griffin Gaming Partners.

Los Angeles-based Muus Collective built the game in collaboration with fashion retailer Revolve. It offers a game-forward mobile styling platform with a seamless e-commerce tie-in. Stylists can virtually shop and style the latest collections on Revolve from popular brands, get inspiration for their IRL wardrobes, and shop their favorites from revolve.com with the tap of a button.

This advanced fashion styling game integrates the renowned brand portfolios of Revolve and Fwrd into an immersive shopping experience. As Bellemint’s exclusive retail partner, Revolve is expanding its digital presence, offering a distinctive blend of virtual and real-world fashion, designed to deepen customer engagement and expand its reach to new audiences.

“There’s so much diversity you can choose from many different skin tones, hairstyles, hair textures, eye color, and hair colors that are both natural in the real world and also way out there,” said Sarah Fuchs, co-CEO of Muus Collective, in an interview with GamesBeat. “You can really create whoever you want to style and then you style with real-world brands and you get challenges every day. Then you can shop in real life on Revolve.”

Through Revolve, players get to explore the clothing of brands such as A.L.C., Andrea Iyamah, Bronx and Banco, Hemant and Nandita, Maria Lucia Hohan, Rococo Sand and others.

It’s one of a new generation of games that combines a digital game with e-commerce and physical retail products, resulting in new opportunities for monetization. The game is available on iOS and Android. Bellemint is its inaugural mobile fashion game, and it’s yet another example of a game from a venture-backed game studio. Griffin Gaming Partners led a $5 million round for Muus in 2022.

Stylists tap into self-expression by creating looks, customizing digital avatars (Muses) with inclusive options for size, skin tone, and hair texture, and participating in daily styling challenges, said Amber Bezahler, co-CEO of Muus Collective, in an interview with GamesBeat. They can connect with other stylists through voting on their looks and can follow and friend others who inspire them.

Fuchs said that as players earn their first promotion to a new stylist level in Bellemint, they unlock a limited-time 20% discount to shop on Revolve, seamlessly connecting virtual achievements with real-world rewards. This promotion-based reward system encourages players to continue refining their styling skills while engaging with Revolve and Fwrd collections. Future updates will further integrate loyalty benefits, offering even more real-world incentives through gameplay.

There are other fashion games like Covet Fashion, which is owned by Electronic Arts. Fuchs worked on that game in the past, while Bezahler came from the e-commerce side.

What differentiates Bellemint is its seamless integration with the Revolve e-commerce platform, merging the virtual world with the real world to offer customers an aspirational, engaging, and personalized shopping experience. By tapping into the gaming world through a sophisticated and stylizedplatform, Bellemint supports Revolve’s commitment to providing exclusive, interactive experiences that foster customer loyalty and drive innovation in retail.

Walmart has also been exploring new business models for e-commerce options in games as well. In general, sales of real-life gear in a game results in a cut of the purchase price for the game maker. Muus Collective cannot comment on the type of deal it gets. But we can assume there is some affiliate revenue here. And what’s good about that is that the game will have an alternative model for monetization beyond in-game item sales or advertising. That’s important, as it is getting increasingly hard for generic mobile games to make money because it’s harder to target ads at consumers these days, thanks to Apple’s focus on privacy over targeted ads.

Following successful tests in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, the game is now available in the U.S. on iOS and Android, with plans to launch globally in 2025. Initial metrics show in-game stylists engaging in the app for around 30 minutes per day while logging two to three sessions daily.

Stylists (in this case, the players) can customize their avatars with diverse features, including a range of body sizes, skin tones, eye colors, eyebrow shapes, and hair textures and colors.

They can compete in daily style challenges, vote on fellow stylists’ outfits, and follow their favorite stylists for continued inspiration and community connection. This is only the beginning, with a full roster of new features planned before global launch, the company said.

“We’re thrilled to announce this major milestone of Bellemint soft launching in the U.S.,” said Bezahler. “Our initial tests in regions like Australia and Canada have found a highly engaged audience that values self-expression and spends around 30 minutes daily styling, discovering, and shopping the latest collections from Revolve. With even more features coming to help you curate your perfect digital and IRL wardrobe, we can’t wait to see how our U.S. audience embraces the experience.”

“Bellemint offers an immersive and aspirational shopping journey that seamlessly merges virtual fashion with real-world trends,” said Fuchs. “Our initial regional launches in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand revealed a highly engaged audience that embraces self-expression and spends an average of 30 minutes a day styling, discovering, and shopping. With even more exciting features coming soon, we’re thrilled to introduce this experience to the U.S. audience—Revolve’s primary market—and can’t wait to see how they unlock and embrace their perfect digital and IRL wardrobes.”

Muus Collective is a women-founded and led digital studio for the creator, gamer, and tastemaker in all of us. Muus brings together the best minds in fashion, gaming, and retail to create fashion experiences spanning mobile games, entertainment, and e-commerce.

“The launch of Bellemint marks a strategic advancement in retail, merging immersive digital engagement with real-world shopping incentives. At Revolve, we’re committed to pushing boundaries, and this partnership with Muus Collective enables us to reach new audiences and strengthen customer engagement and loyalty through innovative experiences. By blending virtual and physical shopping,we’re elevating our brand presence with the potential to drive measurable growth for Revolve andFwrd,” said Michael Mente, co-CEO of Revolve Group, in a statement.

“Revolve and Muus designed Bellemint to be a digital runway for players to discover and shopcurated fashion — and for brand partners to market their products to a tailored audience,” said EmilyWang, partner and COO at Griffin Gaming Partners, in a statement. “The game serves as a new medium for brands to boost product discovery and brand loyalty organically, with players repeatedly engaging with digital clothing and accessories to win outfit styling challenges. Players enter and vote on challenges as a creative form of self-expression, all the while delighting in fashion inspiration and adding real-worldoutfits to their cart from their favorite in-game stylists and the game’s user-generated social feed.”

“Bellemint is a gamified platform where creativity meets the fashion and beauty our players love, offering a unique experience they won’t find anywhere else,” said Bezahler. “We are proud to provide an inclusive experience with an unparalleled range of skin tones, hair textures, and body sizes—seamlessly aligned with Revolve’s ethos. Together, we’re setting a new standard for diversity and representation in fashion gaming.”

Bezahler said, “You can take a picture of yourself in your real world outfit and put it next to your avatar. It’s really an immersive engagement platform. The big thing is about self expression. You can channel your creativity and your love for the game.”

Muus Collective has around 15 people and it has a number of contractors as well. It has also tapped external development companies to help make the game.