The Toy Guide®, The Official Commerce Publication Serving the North American Toy Trade since 1984, reveals the winners for its second annual Pulse of Play Awards
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After a breakout debut, the Pulse of Play Awards program returns to indicate the world who’s making noise in toys, video games, licensing, and every thing that fuels the enterprise of play.
“The toy industry thrives on creativity and bold ideas from people who don’t think inside boxes. That energy carries far beyond toys, influencing experiences, products, and adjacent industries worldwide. The Pulse of Play Awards honors the hustle, imagination, and relentless drive for excellence that define this business,” says James Zahn, Editor-in-Chief of The Toy Guide and Director of The Pulse of Play Awards. “We congratulate all of this year’s winners and look forward to celebrating them in The BIG Toy Book, debuting February 14 at Toy Fair New York.”
The 2026 Pulse of Play Awards Winners
MARKETING MAESTROS
- PRODUCT LAUNCH OF THE YEAR: MGA Leisure | Bratz X Imply Women Spring Fling Collector Dolls
- JUVENILE PRODUCT LAUNCH OF THE YEAR: United States Postal Service | Flybar x USPS Foot-to-Ground Toy
- CULTURAL MOMENT OF THE YEAR: Hasbro | Peppa Pig Introduces Child Evie
- INFLUENCER ACTIVATION OF THE YEAR: Moose Toys | Gui Gui Slime Boutique Pop-Up
- VIRAL HIT OF THE YEAR: Funko | KPop Demon Hunters POP! Vinyl Figures
- THE CINEMATIC ART OF SELLING FUN: COMMERCIAL OF THE YEAR: Spin Grasp | “YES CHEF!” Kinetic Sand Squish Pizza
CREATORS & INNOVATORS
- TOY INVENTOR OF THE YEAR: Loops Lab, Yona Segev
- GAME INVENTOR OF THE YEAR: Hootenanny Video games | Barry McLaughlin and Jason Lautenschleger for Feelin’ Cute
- DIGITAL STUDIO/TEAM OF THE YEAR: Nintendo Leisure Planning & Improvement
- LOCATION-BASED EXPERIENCE OF THE YEAR: The LEGO Group | San Diego LEGO-Con at Comedian-Con Worldwide: San Diego 2025
PURVEYORS OF PLAY
- DISPLAY OF THE YEAR: Paladone | WeCool Toys at Yas Mall’s Toys “R” Us in Abu Dhabi
- DISTRIBUTOR OF THE YEAR: Asmodee North America
- RETAILER OF THE YEAR (Impartial, Specialty, and Pastime): 5 Little Monkeys
- RETAILER OF THE YEAR (Mass/Mass Specialty): 5 Under
- THE CHALLENGER: PMI Youngsters’ World
- MANUFACTURER OF THE YEAR: Mattel
THE LICENSING BOOK
- CROSSOVER COLLABORATION OF THE YEAR: Fundamental Enjoyable! | Care Bears x Depraved: For Good (Common Merchandise & Experiences x Cloudco Leisure)
- LICENSED COLLABORATION/PROGRAM OF THE YEAR: Jazwares x Netflix | Stranger Issues x Jazwares
- ENTERTAINMENT-DRIVEN PROPERTY OF THE YEAR: Netflix | KPop Demon Hunters
THE OVERALL PULSE OF PLAY AWARD
This award honors excellent achievements in all classes of the enterprise of play, together with retail, manufacturing, design, gross sales, and past.
- Jazwares
Nominees have been submitted by approved representatives and members of an nameless, impartial business panel final fall. Finalists have been revealed final month and voted on by the panel and members of the Journey Media & Occasions crew to find out this 12 months’s winners.
The Toy Guide’s forty second quantity begins on February 14, 2026, with this 12 months’s version of The BIG Toy Guide debuting at Toy Truthful New York. The Toy Guide and its sister publications, The Toy Insider and The Pop Insider, could be present in Sales space No. 3055 on the Javits Heart, February 14-17.
Plans are already underway for the 2027 Pulse of Play Awards. The nomination interval for the third annual program will open this summer time. Go to pulseofplayawards.com for extra info.
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