LEGO Kicks Off CES With A Bold New Direction
Image Source: LEGO.com
At a CES 2026 presentation hosted by Julia Goldin, Chief Product & Marketing Officer of the LEGO Group and Tom Donaldson, Senior Vice President & Head of Creative Play Lab, the LEGO Group revealed a surprising new direction for their company.
The LEGO SMART Play system was unveiled via three Star Wars LEGO sets, the new system involving a SMART Brick supported by SMART Minifigures and SMART Tags in each play set. The Brick is apparently a very sophisticated electronic device capable of sensing the way it is being played with, and is capable of interaction with Tags and Minifigures to produce sound effects, lights and even motions. The Brick requires a charger, which is provided in each set, and the LEGO Group is currently promising both continued support and eventual expansion of the technology.
However, some have doubts that the new direction will succeed. For example, in their reporting, Gizmodo focused on the increased price as a result of the new SMART Play system pieces. The three sets of Darth Vader’s TIE starfighter, Luke’s X-wing starfighter, and the Emperor’s throne room currently cost 70$, 90$ and 150$ USD respectively, with limited LEGO pieces and a clear reduced scale in detail for each of the products.
At the same time, LEGO seems to have found success with their line of similarly-electronically-enhanced Super Mario play sets, continuing to support the product and no doubt helped with the ongoing popularity of Nintendo’s flagship red plumber after the 2023 film, with its sequel releasing in April 2026.
We’ll ultimately have to wait and see how the new SMART Play expansion to LEGO shakes out, and if other LEGO ranges will see their own SMART Play sets. As for these three launch sets, they will be available for pre-order on January 9th and available to purchase on March 1st at various vendors.
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Source(s): Gizmodo, LEGO Group
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