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Mattel Forms Mattel Game Studios to Self-Publish Games on Its Own Brands
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Mattel is done renting out its toy box. The company on August 13, 2026 announced the formation of Mattel Game Studios, a global development and publishing organization that will build, release, and operate original games drawn from brands including Hot Wheels, UNO, and Masters of the Universe.
The new studio brings together nearly 300 artists, designers, engineers, live-operations specialists, and producers across Los Angeles and Hangzhou, according to the company’s announcement. It takes over Mattel’s self-published digital games business outright: the existing mobile portfolio, a wave of new free-to-play titles, and original experiences built on creator platforms such as Roblox and Fortnite. The organization sits inside Mattel Digital Studios, the broader games group that also handles titles licensed out to external partners.
The formation is the direct payoff of a deal Mattel struck six months ago. On February 10, 2026, the company agreed to buy out its joint-venture partner, Chinese games giant NetEase, taking full ownership of the Mattel163 mobile studio in a transaction valuing the operation at $318 million. Mattel paid $159 million for NetEase’s 50 percent interest, with more than half of that funded from Mattel’s own share of the joint venture’s cash, which sat unconsolidated on its balance sheet. Mattel said at the time the buyout would be immediately accretive.
Mattel Game Studios is, in effect, Mattel163 with a bigger mandate. Founded in 2018 as a 50-50 joint venture, Mattel163 built the card-game corner of Mattel’s catalog into a mobile business: UNO!, UNO Wonder, Phase 10, and Skip-Bo have together generated more than 550 million downloads and reach roughly 20 million monthly active players, per the company’s figures. That portfolio now becomes the foundation of an in-house publisher.
“Mattel Game Studios gives us the scale and capabilities to build and publish more original gaming experiences inspired by our iconic brands,” said Marcus Liassides, Senior Vice President and Global Head of Mattel Digital Studios. “Together with our successful collaborations across the industry, it strengthens our ability to reach fans through great games wherever they choose to play.”
Amy Huang, who founded the original Mattel163 team, said the studio had “brought together an extraordinary group of developers, artists, and publishing experts who share a passion for building great games.”
What Mattel Gains by Publishing Itself
The economics behind the reorganization trace back to the February acquisition filing. Mattel framed the buyout as a move to “capture the full value of its IP in high-margin, highly accretive entertainment verticals,” and said folding Mattel163 into its digital business would create scale benefits in performance marketing and cross-promotion alongside its brand marketing. With 20 million monthly players already inside its own titles, Mattel now owns both the audience and the storefront relationship.
The February announcement also laid out the three-pillar structure Mattel Game Studios now formalizes: licensing deals with partners including Take-Two, Xbox, Supercell, Netflix, and Apple Arcade; self-published original mobile games; and experiences on creator platforms. The studio’s first self-published release, a Masters of the Universe mobile game, launched in June 2026 ahead of the rebrand.
What Ships Next From Mattel Game Studios
The pipeline is already moving. UNO Wild, a new spin on the card game, is in soft launch, and a new Hot Wheels title is in active development, the company said. The licensed side of Mattel Digital Studios continues in parallel: Hot Wheels Unleashed is on the market, with Barbie Rewind, Hot Wheels Infinite Rush, and Masters of the Universe: Dragon Pearl of Destruction still to come from partner studios.
The next observable marker on the corporate calendar is Mattel’s third-quarter 2026 earnings report, due in late October 2026 based on the company’s reporting cadence. Q3 2026 results will offer the latest look at the consolidated Mattel163 business, which Mattel expected to fully own from the end of Q1 2026.
