Mattel takes full control of 300-person mobile studio, targets Uno for its Monopoly Go
Summary
Mattel bought out NetEase's stake in the Mattel163 joint venture in February 2026 and rebranded it Mattel Game Studios in August.
The buyout followed NetEase's retreat from western games publishing, per COO Devin Nambiar.
Mattel now directly runs a roughly 300-person studio across Los Angeles and Hangzhou.
Nambiar names Uno as the internal benchmark for reaching Monopoly Go scale.
"That could be our Monopoly Go - if we can have something of that scale that would be a huge moment for Mattel and would impact the entire company business"
01
NetEase's retreat from western games drove the sale
Mattel acquired NetEase's stake in Mattel163 in February 2026 and rebranded it Mattel Game Studios in August.
Nambiar says NetEase's investment was small and no longer matched its strategy.
"Because it's not their strategic priority anymore...it was a pretty easy discussion"
Mattel163 had reached "escape velocity" in scale before corporate leadership took the mobile business seriously.
02
Full ownership loads a 300-person, two-continent studio onto Mattel's balance sheet
Mattel now directly runs roughly 300 staff across Los Angeles and Hangzhou.
The unit keeps operating several Uno games, Phase 10, Skip-Bo, plus licensed Barbie titles from Budge and Rollic.
Masters of the Universe: Until Next Time is the first title built without NetEase co-publishing.
Engineering, live-ops and hiring costs now sit on Mattel's balance sheet rather than a shared venture.
03
Uno's organic download heat sets the internal hit benchmark
Nambiar names Uno as Mattel's largest title by traffic, revenue and engagement.
"With our current Uno mobile game, we have seen so much organic download heat on that title...that could be our Monopoly Go"
Barbie has had no comparable follow-up since its 2023 movie spike, three years back.
Nambiar lists merge, match-three, simulation and dress-up as untapped Barbie genres, citing Covet Fashion.
04
The ecosystem ambition runs on a five-to-10-year runway
Nambiar wants a mobile game timed to every major Mattel film, show and toy launch.
He rules out any near-term push for three releases a year.
"We're really looking at the digital transformation of Mattel as sort of a five to 10 year initiative, and this is the first salvo"
Mattel's leadership wants to shift from a toy company to an IP and brand management company.
What this means
For Investors & VC: Mattel now carries full studio opex, with returns pegged to a five-to-10-year horizon rather than near-term hits.
For Publishers & Developers: Uno's organic pull is Mattel's chosen path to Monopoly Go scale.
For Service Vendors: In-house ownership opens Barbie merge, match-three, simulation and dress-up projects for co-development pitches.
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