Neymar Jr. collaborates with FlareFlow on 16-title AI Microdrama franchise
Football icon Neymar Jr. has signed on for a 16-title AI-powered live-action microdrama franchise with COL Group’s FlareFlow platform, with the first six titles debuting globally from June 19.
The partnership was unveiled ahead of the appearance of Timothy Oh, Chief Marketing Officer and Managing Director of COL Group, at the microdrama industry panel of the APOS conference. The rollout is timed to coincide with increased global attention during the World Cup football season, with the opening wave of six titles launching through June 22.
Produced using AI-powered live-action production workflows, the franchise spans genres ranging from sports drama to science fiction. The six debut titles are ‘The Way Back to Glory’, ‘The Playboy System: Scoring the Goddesses’, ‘Soccer Star Kidnapped Into the Galaxy Cup: Score or Die!’, ‘Fake Neymar, Real God’, ‘Project to Legend: NEY 10’ and ‘The Limping Janitor Is the True World Football King’.
“This partnership represents a defining moment for the global entertainment ecosystem,” said James Wang, CEO of FlareFlow. “Neymar is one of the most commercially magnetic athletes in the world. By bringing together his global star power with our advanced AI creative workflows, we can push the boundaries of storytelling on an unprecedented scale.”
As part of the distribution deal, the slate will also be rolled out in mainland China through Xiaohongshu, the digital lifestyle platform whose daily active user base exceeds 200 million.
“The unveiling of this franchise at APOS marks the true beginning of our Vertical 2.0 strategy,” said Oh. “We are extending premium vertical storytelling well beyond the first wave into highly scalable genres like sports, perfectly timed to capture global attention during the World Cup season.”
Neymar has a combined social following of more than 220 million, which the company characterizes as a major endorsement for the vertical entertainment category. FlareFlow, which operates under COL Group – listed on the ChiNext board of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange – has released approximately 5,200 series to date, with 33 million registered users, support for 14 languages and a presence in more than 200 countries and regions.
