An Iconic Toy Company Launches Game Studio Focused on Roblox & Fortnite Collaborations
Mattel has been trying to turn its iconic toy box IPs into a video game library for almost as long as consoles have existed. The company introduced Intellivision in 1979, licensed Barbie’s first computer game in the ’80s, and has since put Hot Wheels, He-Man, and even Thomas the Tank Engine into games of varying degrees of quality, with a few breakout successes. Most of those projects were made with outside developers, leaving Mattel to provide the characters while someone else decided how players would interact with them. The company followed a similar playbook in Hollywood before the success of Barbie demonstrated the value of exerting more control over how its properties are developed. Mattel now appears ready to apply that lesson to the digital frontier, announcing a new division capable of building new experiences instead of simply handing another company the keys to the Dreamhouse.
According to PC Gamer, Mattel has officially launched Mattel Game Studios, a new division that brings together nearly 300 artists, engineers, designers, and producers under one banner. The studio is expected to develop, publish, and maintain games based on Mattel properties for Roblox, Fortnite, and mobile. Mattel has already confirmed the soft launch of UNO Wild, and a new Hot Wheels game is in development, although it has not yet announced which brands will be getting new Roblox experiences. The announcement confirms the company is investing heavily in the platform, but it hasn’t promised every toy in the company’s catalogue is about to receive its own game. Players expecting to jump straight into Castle Grayskull Tycoon will have to wait a beat, if not an Eternia.
Not Mattel’s First Block Party
This is not Mattel’s first trip through the Bloxverse. Gamefam’s Barbie DreamHouse Tycoon lets players construct a home and explore Malibu without ever having to consider the drive time into LA. Their American Girl brand also had a successful launch on the platform in American Girl World from developer Melon, reaching over 5.3 million visits. Monster High, Uno, and Masters of the Universe have all portaled into Roblox through partnerships with outside developers and integrations with pre-existing games. The difference now is that Mattel has a studio more than capable of handling the work itself. The new publisher grew out of Mattel163, a mobile game developer that operated as a joint venture with Marvel Rivals developer NetEase prior to Mattel acquiring full ownership.
Mattel’s pivot recognizes that its brands only stay relevant if they keep showing up where kids already are. In the 1980s that meant Saturday morning cartoons. In 2026, that increasingly means Roblox and Fortnite, where younger audiences aren’t just watching characters on screen, but playing with them, customizing them, and spending hours in worlds built for them. For Mattel, the new studio is less about chasing a gaming trend than updating a playbook they’ve successfully used for decades. Barbie, Masters of the Universe, and Hot Wheels have survived because Mattel has always kept an eye on where they can engage their audience. Right now, that engagement is happening on Roblox.