4 – Breaking News & Latest Updates 2026
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Toys

Whether you’re actually a kid or just a kid at heart, there’s never been a better time to love amazing toys like the ones we cover at The Verge. Big toymakers are capitalizing on adults’ disposable income and a recent wave of nostalgia for the ‘80s — the heyday of toys — like never before. Meanwhile, crowdfunding and 3D printers are letting tiny startups get in on the action as well.

Andrew Liszewski
Andrew Liszewski
Simon is back, but now you have to play it like DDR.

One of the most iconic electronic toys of the ‘80s is returning, but instead of pressing glowing buttons to repeat an ever-growing pattern, the Simon Jump Game Mat requires you to use your feet. The gameplay is similar to the original Simon, but players are now presented with a sequence of colored lights right from the start, which you have to dance out on the mat.

It’s available now from Amazon and Target for $21.99.

If you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission.

<em>The mat supersizes Simon so you can play it like </em>Dance Dance Revolution<em>.</em>
<em>Instead of a pattern that gets longer and longer, the game presents a sequence of colored lights right from the start you’ll need to memorize.</em>
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The mat supersizes Simon so you can play it like Dance Dance Revolution.
Image: Just Play
Andrew Liszewski
Andrew Liszewski
Vroom, vroom.

ICYMI: If you’re on the hunt for a new handbag and want something chic that doubles as a reliable distraction during awkward dinner dates, Nik Bentel Studio’s new RC Car Bag is exactly that. You can’t drive an Hermès Birkin bag across a table.

Nik Bentel Studio’s RC Car Bag racing across a dining table.
The RC Car Bag from Nik Bentel Studio will set you back $295 and looks to be worth every penny.
GIF: Nik Bentel Studio
Charles Pulliam-Moore
Charles Pulliam-Moore
Amazon MGM’s Masters Of The Universe just keeps getting more real.

It is still kind of hard to believe that Amazon MGM is producing a live-action Masters of the Universe movie starring Nicholas Galitzine as He-Man and Jared Leto as Skeletor. But it’s true, and Deadine reports that Morena Baccarin (Deadpool) and Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson (Vikings: Valhalla) have signed on to play The Sorceress of Castle Grayskull and Fisto, respectively.

Andrew Liszewski
Andrew Liszewski
Bandai’s new Star Wars Tamagotchi makes you responsible for raising Vader.

Following Grogu and R2-D2 versions, Bandai’s latest Star Wars collaboration turns Anakin Skywalker into a digital pet. But no matter how you choose to raise him with regular feedings and even lightsaber training, the Tamagotchi version of Anakin is always destined for the dark side and will inevitably grow into one of ten different versions of Darth Vader.

The Bandai Darth Vader Tamagotchi inside its Vader helmet protective silicone case.
The Bandai Darth Vader Tamagotchi showing a pixelated cartoonish version of Darth Vader on screen.
The front and back of the Bandai Darth Vader Tamagotchi’s packaging.
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Bandai’s new Star Wars Darth Vader Tamagotchi will be available in March 2025 for $30, and will include a protective silicone case shaped like Vader’s helmet.
Image: Bandai
Charles Pulliam-Moore
Charles Pulliam-Moore
Do you guys ever think about dying... again?

Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach weren’t contractually locked into making another Barbie movie after their first and a follow-up didn’t exactly seem like something Warner Bros. was rushing to make.

But according to The Hollywood Reporter, the filmmakers “have been swept up in an undertow and hatched an idea for the sequel,” which has the studio contemplating bringing them back for a new deal.

Andrew Liszewski
Andrew Liszewski
Do you want to build a Frank Lloyd Wright masterpiece?

Areaware’s new 15-piece Blockitecture set was designed by James Paulius with hexagonal shapes and cantilevered features so you can build structures in Frank Lloyd Wright’s distinctive Usonian-style.

The blocks are made from a mix of New Zealand pine and fiberboard and while $60 for the set isn’t cheap, a portion of that will go to the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation.

Areaware’s Blockitecture Frank Lloyd Wright set shown assembled into a house and disassembled.
Areaware’s Blockitecture Frank Lloyd Wright set shown assembled into a house.
Areaware’s Blockitecture Frank Lloyd Wright set shown assembled into a house.
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Areaware’s new 15-piece building block set lets you create your own Frank Lloyd Wright Usonian-style home.
Image: Areaware
Andrew Liszewski
Andrew Liszewski
Nintendo’s new Zonai device capsule toys are worth a trip to Japan.

Following its excellent controller button keychain collections, Nintendo will soon fill the gashapon machines in its stores in Japan with collectible Zonai devices from The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Six will be available for $4 each, including devices like rockets and flame emitters, and they’ll all double as magnets with an included attachment.

The Zonai device magnets that will be available in Nintendo stores in Japan.
Nintendo stores in Japan are getting Zonai device magnets available through gashapon machines.
Image: Nintendo
Andrew Liszewski
Andrew Liszewski
Lego has recreated Leonardo da Vinci’s flying machine.

Following a buildable Mona Lisa, Lego has tackled another da Vinci creation with a 493-piece replica of the renaissance polymath’s flying machine. It still can’t actually fly, but a system of strings, hinges, and pulleys makes its fabric covered wings flap when you pull a trigger. It will be available starting on January 1, 2025, for $49.99, and will include a da Vinci minifigure.

The Lego Icons Leonardo da Vinci’s Flying Machine posed on a shelf.
A person operating the wing flapping mechanism on the Lego Icons Leonardo da Vinci’s Flying Machine.
A close-up of the minifigure included with the Lego Icons Leonardo da Vinci’s Flying Machine set.
A side profile look at the mechanisms on the Lego Icons Leonardo da Vinci’s Flying Machine.
A look at the back of the Lego Icons Leonardo da Vinci’s Flying Machine set.
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Lego’s recreation of da Vinci’s flying machine includes hinges and pulleys that make its wings flap.
Image: Lego
Jay Peters
Jay Peters
Does your Lego Tallneck need some friends?

If so, you’ll be able to add a Lego Shell-Walker and Sawtooth to your collection next March thanks to a new Horizon-themed Lego set that you can preorder now. Varl is getting a minifig, too.

And if you want more Lego and Horizon while you wait, the new Lego Horizon Adventures game is out now.

Andrew Liszewski
Andrew Liszewski
Tesla’s now selling a seven-inch version of its humanoid robot.

Tesla’s Optimus robot is now available through the company’s online store, but in a version that’s even less capable than the ones at its recent Cybercab reveal. The $40, 1:10-scale Tesla Bot Action Figure stands 7.16 inches tall and is assembled from over 40 parts offering 20 points of articulation. It includes a tiny matching charging stand and a CyberHammer.

Two Tesla Bot action figures, one sitting and one standing, posed next to each other.
Two Tesla Bot action figures posed standing next to each other.
The Tesla Bot action figure in its packaging.
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Each seven-inch tall figure has 20 points of articulation.
Image: Tesla
Sean Hollister
Sean Hollister
Today I learned you can buy an officially licensed Blockbuster VHS tape case that’s secretly a stash for Nintendo Switch games.

$20 direct from Retro Fighters, $28 from Amazon, or about $18 from VGP Canada, all before shipping costs.

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Andrew Liszewski
Andrew Liszewski
Lego’s 3,011-piece The Endurance sets sail on November 29th.

Adding to its growing collection of doomed ocean-going vessels, Lego’s The Endurance recreates Ernest Shackleton’s ship that sunk in 1915 after being trapped in Antarctic ice for 10 months. Lego’s $269.99 version doesn’t float, but features a working steering wheel, four detachable life boats, sails, and removable panels revealing interior cabins and a replica of the ship’s steam engine.

A person adjusting the sails on the Lego Icons The Endurance.
A close-up of the back of the Lego Icons The Endurance model.
A close-up of the back of the Lego Icons The Endurance model.
A close-up of the life boats included with the Lego Icons The Endurance model.
The Lego Icons The Endurance model against a white background.
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Lego’s 3,011-piece The Endurance includes elaborate rigging and sails.
Image: Lego
Sean Hollister
Sean Hollister
Toy Story’s Buzz Lightyear is now a $600 robot toy.

Robosen, maker of self-transforming Transformers, has teamed up with Disney to bring its Space Ranger toy to life.

It’s got 23 servo motors, working buttons (save the laser, weirdly!) and even has Buzz’s Spanish mode — plus new “first-of-its-kind micro-servos” to move its eyes and mouth. Mine has a bit of a lazy eye, though! 3.7 pounds, 14.6 inches tall, on sale today.

Andrew Liszewski
Andrew Liszewski
Lego’s new X-Men: The X-Mansion set includes the first Gambit minifigure.

The 3,093 piece X-Mansion is Lego’s largest X-Men set to date and will be available starting on November 4th for $329.99. It comes with 10 minifigures including our first Lego versions of Gambit, Professor X, Iceman, and Bishop, plus a buildable Sentinel robot. The set’s modular design gives easy access to interior features like a Danger Room and Cerebro.

The fully assembled Lego X-Men: X-Mansion set against a white background.
The back of the fully assembled Lego X-Men: X-Mansion set against a white background.
The Lego minifigures included with the X-Men: X-Mansion set, lined up in front of the mansion.
A close-up of a Lego X-Men Sentinel robot fighting Gambit and Cyclops minifigures.
A close-up of the top of the Lego X-Mansion falling apart with a Magneto minifigure on top of it.
A close-up of Lego Storm and Gambit minifigures in the X-Mansion set’s Danger Room.
A close-up of someone changing out the weapons in the Lego X-Mansion set’s Danger Room.
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The Lego X-Men: X-Mansion set contains 3,093 pieces.
Image: Lego
Sean Hollister
Sean Hollister
I totally forgot we wrote about Nintendo’s sleep tracking alarm clock 10 years ago.

Nintendo’s been dreaming of Alarmo for a decade — CEO Satoru Iwata revealed the idea in an investor briefing back in 2014! It’s possible the project went on pause between then and now, though. Today, Nintendo said that its development took place during the covid-19 pandemic.

Andrew Liszewski
Andrew Liszewski
You can now accessorize your Framework laptop with Lego.

If you’re a Framework laptop user with access to a 3D printer you’ve now got an important question to ask yourself. Do you prioritize being able to accessorize your machine with Lego using this 3D-printed adapter with studs and tubes that fits into the Framework’s expansion card port? Or is adding another USB-C or HDMI port a higher priority? Decisions, decisions...

Two examples of Lego used to upgrade a Framework laptop.
Got Lego? You can use it to further upgrade your Framework laptop with this 3D-printed adapter.
Image: Printables
Wes Davis
Wes Davis
Lego’s site was hacked to promote fake crypto.

An X post spotted by The Brick Fan flagged to the company yesterday that its online shop was displaying a “LEGO Coin” cryptocurrency banner.

Naturally, there is no such thing; Lego tells Engadget that the situation was quickly resolved and no user data was compromised.

Sean Hollister
Sean Hollister
Pee bottle seemingly not included.

We just got Amazon’s holiday gift guide in the mail. On page four, under “Toys we love,” my wife immediately spotted the new Amazon Prime Delivery Van Ride-On.

It’s real. But strangely, it doesn’t seem to include a Teamsters union card, a biometric consent form for mandatory AI surveillance, or a pee bottle?

If I’m going to indoctrinate my kids with ride-ons, I’ll do it properly!
If I’m going to indoctrinate my kids with ride-ons, I’ll do it properly!
Image: Amazon
Andrew Liszewski
Andrew Liszewski
Square Enix’s die-cast Sega replicas are Hot Wheels for gamers.

Debuting under the company’s “Bright Arts” line of collectibles, Square Enix is releasing six miniature replicas of classic Sega consoles including the Genesis, Saturn, and Dreamcast in multiple regional variants.

Each tiny console includes a matching controller and will sell for ¥4,400 (around $30) when they launch in Japan starting on January 25th, 2025.

Four versions of Square Enix’s die-cast miniature Sega consoles.
The die-cast Sega console replicas will be available early next year.
Image: Square Enix
Sean Hollister
Sean Hollister
Jabba the Hutt has his own $500 Lego set.

The Star Wars slimelord’s Sail Barge is 3,942 pieces and comes with 11 figs, including R2-D2 with drink tray, Leia in her infamous bikini, and a gigantic (by minifig scale) Jabba himself. It takes artistic liberties inside the ship, including a food-filled galley.

No Sarlacc pit or skiff to renact the Boba Fett / Han Solo / Luke battle, I’m afraid — that’s sold separately.

1/11Images: Lego
Andrew Liszewski
Andrew Liszewski
You can ride this super-sized Lego Technic motorcycle.

Matt Denton, a talented engineer and designer who helped bring Star Wars’ BB-8 to life, turned a 33-year-old Lego Technics motorcycle set into a rideable electric bike.

The giant Technic pieces, created on a 3D printer, assemble just like real Lego, although a hammer is occasionally needed at this scale. The bike is strong enough to support an adult, but is occasionally a challenge to steer.

Sean Hollister
Sean Hollister
In case you missed it over the long weekend: self-retracting lightsaber toy.

It’s the one that got away — from Star Wars toymaker Hasbro, that is! Hasbro acquired the rights and even patented it around the world, then abandoned it. It’s no “real Disney lightsaber,” but it’s the first to scratch the same self-retracting itch.

Andrew Liszewski
Andrew Liszewski
Go vote for this brick-built Technics turntable to become a real Lego set.

Panasonic resurrected the legendary Technics 1200 turntable eight years ago, but Tamás Borján’s version will appeal to both nostalgic DJs and Lego fans.

This 2,215-piece Technics SL-1200 MK2 won’t actually play records but it’s got a motorized platter that spins, a movable tone arm with an adjustable counter balance, and a sliding pitch fader.

Sean Hollister
Sean Hollister
The most badass Nerf blaster I’ve ever seen.

We are officially in the “if you can dream it, someone can build it” stage of foam warfare. This is the Final Condition, a true break-action shotty worthy of Destiny or Doom. Its designer plans to release files in the near future — despite a recent setback.

Sean Hollister
Sean Hollister
Lego Star Wars sets will never be the same.

We knew Lego Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy, a four-part animated miniseries airing September 13th, would play amusingly fast and loose with canon.

But an entire Dark Falcon with Darth Jar Jar and Darth Rey and a Beach Luke?! Amazing. That’s the leak from Clay Bricks, who says it’ll cost $179.99. “X-Fighters” and “Tie-Wings” are reportedly coming too.

<em>The leaked Dark Falcon set.</em>
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The leaked Dark Falcon set.
All pics via u/Clay_Bricks (Reddit)
Sean Hollister
Sean Hollister
This amazing knockoff GBA SP comes stuffed with software piracy.

I am so torn. The Anbernic RG35XXSP — which I’ve mentioned here before — is a beaut. I love handhelds, I love emulators, and I’ve got my own Game Boy cartridges and access to a GB Operator so I can (legally?) back ‘em up.

On the other hand, Anbernic is shipping these with truckloads of pirated ROMs! Didn’t ask for those; I’d happily buy without.