Mattel163 is ringing in the new year with new numbers showing the company’s gaming community has reached unprecedented heights.
Over the past year, Mattel163 has significantly expanded its game portfolio, launching new titles inspired by the UNO franchise like “UNO: Arcade Edition” and “UNO Wonder” and signing in-game IP licensing deals with major properties like Peanuts and Hello Kitty. Today, January 7, the developer and publisher has released new numbers showing its gaming community now includes over 550 million players across all games, with over 65 billion individual matches played to date, 35 billion of which took place inside “UNO! Mobile.”
“Reaching these remarkable player and match milestones is a fantastic achievement,” said Mattel163 chief executive officer Amy Huang in a press release. “This milestone will continue to fuel our commitment to connecting the world through play.”
To mark its 550-million-player milestone, Mattel163 has launched a new, limited-time puzzle event inside “UNO! Mobile,” pegged to the seventh anniversary of the game. Between today and January 25, participating players will be able to collect “memory fragments” by playing UNO matches, using these items to view scenes from important moments in the game’s history, including its global launch, the debut of its first game pass and card collection and its first-ever in-game tournament. On February 1, players will be able to access an anniversary shop containing over 100 commemorative items, including avatar frames and filters.
“Mattel163 is poised to continue expanding its reach and attracting more players,” said Mattel163 chief operating officer Devin Nambiar in a press release. “In 2026, we’ll focus on delivering even higher-quality experiences and content through our games and community.”
Mattel’s digital growth
Mattel163 is a joint venture between Mattel and NetEase, and although many of its titles are built around Mattel intellectual properties, Mattel163’s products are separate from the other gaming initiatives of its American parent company. But the studio’s growth reflects the ongoing expansion of all things gaming under the Mattel umbrella, both at Mattel163 and otherwise.
At last month’s GamesBeat Insider Series: Hollywood and Games conference, Mattel senior vice president and global head of digital Marcus Liassides joined Overwolf chief marketing officer Shahar Sorek for a discussion about his company’s growing interest in user-generated content gaming platforms like Roblox and Fortnite, with Liassides discussing the success of Mattel-licensed experiences such as the “Barbie DreamHouse Tycoon” experience launched on Roblox in 2023.
“We’ve become aware of these platforms as not just places for gamers, but for fans to create, and our brands have always been fan-favorites, and people have created around our IP,” Liassides said during the panel discussion. “Our brands have always been fan-favorites, and people have created around our IP, and so being on these platforms is critically important.”
Liassides is continuing his media campaign at this year’s CES conference, where tomorrow, January 8, he is scheduled to speak on a panel at Variety’s Entertainment Summit on the topic of creator marketing and how immersive gaming can fit into it.
“We’re seeing retail lift; we’re also seeing value from the engagement of this next wave of creators, that are creating things we could never conceive,” Liassides said during the panel.