A brand-new gaming console is shaking things up after pulling off something almost nobody expected. The Nex Playground, a motion-based console built for kids, briefly outsold the PS5 in the United States, and now it’s expanding into a whole new region. The console officially launches in the UK and Ireland on June 22, marking its first move outside North America since debuting back in 2023.
- The Nex Playground launches in the UK and Ireland on June 22, 2026.
- It outsold Sony’s PS5 Slim Digital Edition for a full week during November 2025, and reportedly outsold Xbox consoles the same week.
- The console retails for £269 (€319) and comes with five free starter games.
- An optional Play Pass subscription unlocks over 60 games for £45 per quarter or £90 per year.
- Nex Playground has grown from shipping just 5,000 units in late 2023 to nearly 1 million sold in North America.
- The console uses camera-based motion tracking, similar to the Wii or Xbox Kinect, with no controllers required.
- It’s built around child safety, with kidSAFE+ certification, COPPA and GDPR compliance, and no ads or in-app purchases.
What Is the Nex Playground?
For anyone unfamiliar, the Nex Playground is a motion-sensing console built specifically with families in mind. Instead of a traditional controller, it uses a wide-field-of-view camera and an AI-powered motion engine to track player movement, processing everything locally on the device rather than sending footage anywhere. It’s a similar concept to the Nintendo Wii or Xbox Kinect, just built from the ground up as a closed, kid-focused ecosystem rather than a feature bolted onto an existing console.
The console launched in the US back in December 2023 and has grown at a pretty wild pace since. Nex went from shipping just 5,000 units in its first year to selling almost 700,000 in 2025 alone, putting the company on track to cross 1 million total units sold in North America.
The Nex Playground Outsold the PS5 (and Xbox)
The milestone that’s gotten the console so much attention happened during the 2025 holiday shopping season. According to Circana Retail Tracking Service data, the Nex Playground outsold Sony’s PS5 Slim Digital Edition for a full week in November 2025, right around Black Friday. Some reports have also indicated it outsold Xbox consoles during that same stretch. For a brand-new entrant with no major publisher backing, beating out two of the biggest names in gaming hardware, even briefly, is a genuinely rare feat. Nex’s own leadership has pointed out that no new company has managed to break into the console market in a meaningful way in over 20 years, which makes this result even more notable.
Nex Playground UK and Ireland Release Details
The UK and Ireland expansion marks Nex’s first move outside North America, and the company is treating it as a major step. Pre-orders have actually been live since mid-May through Amazon UK, Argos, and Smyths Toys, with the console becoming widely available in stores starting June 22 and arriving on TikTok Shop shortly after. Pricing lands at £269 (€319) for the console itself, which includes five free starter games right out of the box.
For families wanting more content, Nex offers an optional Play Pass subscription that unlocks access to a growing library of more than 60 games. That subscription runs £45 per quarter or £90 for a full year, a noticeably lower price of entry compared to traditional consoles, where individual new games regularly cost $60 to $70 each.
What Games Are Included With the Nex Playground?
Nex has put real effort into securing recognizable brand tie-ins for its game library, which helps the console stand out in a crowded family entertainment space. Titles based on Peppa Pig, Bluey, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are already part of the lineup, with earlier additions like How to Train Your Dragon and Care Bears arriving through the console’s “Spring of Fun” content update. As the sole publisher of every game on the platform, Nex maintains direct control over the quality and safety of everything available, rather than relying on third-party developers the way traditional consoles do.
Why Parents Are Drawn to the Nex Playground’s Safety Features
Child safety has become a major talking point across the gaming industry lately, and Nex has clearly built its entire pitch around that concern. The console holds kidSAFE+ certification and complies with both the US Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act and GDPR requirements in Europe. Games are also rated PEGI 3, and the console runs as a closed ecosystem with no ads, no in-app purchases, and no microtransactions, relying entirely on the optional subscription model for ongoing revenue instead. The hardware even ships with a physical camera cover for added peace of mind.
That positioning lines up with a broader industry shift toward stronger child protections. Roblox in particular has faced repeated scrutiny and lawsuits over child safety concerns, and platforms like Steam, Discord, and PlayStation have all introduced age verification requirements in recent years. Nex’s leadership has been vocal about positioning their console as a direct alternative to that kind of risk, pitching the Playground as a safer, more locked-down option for younger kids specifically.
Could the Nex Playground Carve Out a Real Niche?
Nobody’s expecting the Nex Playground to compete head-to-head with the PS5 or Switch 2 long-term, and that’s not really the point. The subscription-based pricing model keeps the cost of entry low compared to mainstream consoles, and the console’s early sales numbers suggest there’s a genuine appetite for a safer, simpler alternative built specifically for younger players. With more recognizable brands reportedly being added each year and a full UK and Ireland launch now underway, Nex looks like it’s found a real lane for itself in a console market that hasn’t seen a successful new entrant in decades.
For more on the original story and Nex’s UK launch, the BBC’s coverage has additional detail, and the official Nex Playground site has the full game library and pre-order information for anyone interested in picking one up.
More Gaming News Worth Checking Out
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