Classic Toys Could Be Gaming's Next Big Thing

Mattel has launched Mattel Game Studios, a new division of the toy company that will develop, publish, and operate original video games built around Mattel's portfolio of iconic brands, including Hot Wheels, UNO, Barbie, Masters of the Universe, Matchbox, Monster High, and Polly Pocket. The studio has nearly 300 artists, designers, engineers, live operations specialists, and producers working across offices in Los Angeles and Hangzhou, China, and operates under Mattel Digital Studios led by Marcus Liassides. The announcement, reported exclusively by Variety, is part of a broader move by Mattel to take greater control of its games business rather than licensing everything to outside developers, following the company's full acquisition of mobile game studio Mattel163 from joint venture partner NetEase earlier in 2026. Mattel163, which was founded in 2018 and has developed mobile games based on UNO, Phase 10, and Skip Bo, has accumulated over 550 million downloads worldwide and approximately 20 million monthly active users, giving the new studio a proven foundation in mobile gaming to build on. The first self-published Mattel Game Studios title was Skeletor: Until Next Time, an endless runner mobile game based on the Masters of the Universe villain. UNO Wild, a video game adaptation of the iconic card game, is next in the pipeline, with a Hot Wheels game in development after that.

The broader context here is significant. The toy-to-screen phenomenon that began with Barbie's $1.4 billion box office run in 2023 has continued accelerating into 2026, with Masters of the Universe having hit theaters and climbed the streaming charts, Matchbox headed to Apple TV, a Jon M. Chu-directed Hot Wheels movie in active development at Illumination, and an animated Barbie sequel in planning. Mattel's strategy is to extend these beloved brands into every entertainment medium simultaneously, and video games are the logical next frontier given how naturally toy brands translate to interactive play. The appeal to players of a certain age is not hard to explain: Hot Wheels and UNO are not niche properties sitting in cultural storage. They are brands that a very large portion of the population grew up with and has genuine affection for, the kind of emotional connection that translates powerfully into gaming when the product is done well. With 550 million downloads already in the bank from mobile games based on those exact properties, Mattel is not guessing about whether there is an audience. It already knows the answer, and it is building a studio to serve them properly.

Source:https://variety.com/2026/gaming/news/mattel-game-studios-hot-wheels-uno-1236833285/