Time to re-Kinect? Sell-out family console Nex Playground is about to release in the UK and Ireland

Designed to combat "pain points" of modern gaming.

A cuboid games console with a separate controller. It's small - roughly palm-sized - and the bottom half is light grey while the top half is pale yellow and turquoise. A camera lens can be seen on the front of it. It's the Nex Playground machine. — Image credit: Nex

Nex Playground, the family-focused and camera-based console that's had considerable success in the US, is about to be released in the UK and Ireland. Pre-orders begin today at Amazon, Argos and Smyths Toys, and the Nex Playground will launch at an unspecified point in late June.

Nearly a million Nex Playgrounds have sold across the US, and though that isn't a staggering number, the upward trajectory for the console is steep - it sold four times as many in 2025 than in 2024, according to an insightful interview with Nex CEO David Lee on The Game Business last year. And the numbers still seem to be rising sharply.

I hope no one lives downstairs!Watch on YouTube

Why is it popular? Nex Playground is being marketed as a safe and wholesome console. "Parents in the UK and Ireland care deeply about how their kids spend time on screens and what they're exposed to - Nex Playground provides a direct solution to these pain points," Nex president Tom Kang said in a press release.

It's designed as an antidote to consoles that revolve around sedentary experiences, mature games and online connectivity - all potential "pain points" for parents, to reuse Kang's words above. Nex Playground, therefore, has no online connectivity or mature games, and all the games are based around motion-sensed camera input. It's a pitch that sounds very similar to the Xbox Kinect camera peripheral from 2010, although the Nex Playground doesn't also provide more mature gaming experiences as well.

"This launch comes amid a growing national conversation around children's screentime habits and online safety, with many parents seeking alternatives to passive or open-ended digital entertainment," the Nex Playground press release said. That's the area - the concern - it's trying to capitalise on.

The Nex Playground console itself is a palm-sized cube with a camera lens on it, produced in bright, Early Learning Centre-like colours - pastel greens, yellows, and a slightly off-white grey. There's no controller because it doesn't require one, so it comes with a small remote instead. Prices start at £269 (€319) for the Nex Playground with five starter games. Full access to the console's game library requires a subscription (of course), which is £90 (€99) annually or £45 (€49) quarterly.

I'm intrigued to see how well it will do here. Is it encroaching on Nintendo's family-friendly territory, and if it is, will it make a dent on Nintendo's market share? I suppose a better question is will you consider buying one?