There is no such thing as overnight success.
Many of us have only recently heard about the Nex Playground console. thanks to recent blockbuster Black Friday salesbut its creator, Nex Team, has been around for eight years. Launching in December 2023, the hardware includes an AI-powered camera that tracks users' movements, allowing players to interact with a collection of family-friendly games.
It is currently only available in the US and Canada. Nex Team shipped 5,000 units in 2023 and sold 150,000 the following year after being sold at US retailers Walmart, Target and BestBuy.
With massive 2025 sales of 635,000 consoles and counting, the company is approaching 800,000 units sold to date and expects that figure to reach 1 million in the first half of 2026. Although the console is now very difficult to find due to such high demand.
But as noted earlier, it took the company some time to get to where it is today. The Nex team was founded back in 2017 by a group of Apple veterans led by David Lee, who joined the iPhone maker after its first startup, online spreadsheet service EditGrid, was acquired in 2008.
The company initially focused on the AI-powered basketball training app HomeCourt, which Apple invited the Nex Team to demonstrate on stage during the iPhone XS unveiling. HomeCourt later went viral during the COVID-19 pandemic, so the company created a collection of fast-paced games called Active Arcade.
It was a hit in Asian markets. After millions of downloads and “hundreds of millions of gaming sessions,” Lee and his colleagues noticed that when users connected their phone or tablet to a TV and played Active Arcade, the company saw a tenfold increase in retention.
“We built something that people wanted, but we built it on the wrong platform,” explains co-founder and CEO Lee. “That’s how Nex Playground was born.”
Creating a Console – especially as some of the world's largest platform holders appear to be shifting their focus away from hardware – looks like a move in left field. But Lee says the decision came after trying to find a smart TV that could meet his company's ambitions. After unsuccessfully searching, the Nex Team decided that a console was the way forward.
“Having a hardware component allows us to provide the best experience,” Lee insists.
Kinect callback
Nex Playground includes a lot of old industry DNA. This is an Android console on which you can play games similar to Ouya console 2013.but it also focuses on controller-free motion tracking like Microsoft's Kinect discontinued. The first had limited success, but the second became a huge hit that, along with the Nintendo Wii with similar motion controls, expanded the gaming experience to new audiences. However, this type of motion control has all but disappeared, with the exception of a few games on the Nintendo Switch and Switch 2.
“We stand on the shoulders of giants,” admits Lee. “The Wii was a hugely successful console for Nintendo. Kinect sold very well. The idea of playing games with the body appealed to a wide audience. Our focus is on how we are different from previous efforts. If she was there, and now she is not, then something is wrong; otherwise they would still be here.
“There are a few things we do to differentiate ourselves from others. Thanks to artificial intelligence, we have a new technological foundation that delivers experiences. It doesn't require handheld sensors or headsets, unlike many motion-based VR games. We simply use the camera to understand your movements. The technology has moved beyond the need for a sensor or complex camera system, as was the case with Kinect. It's just a simple RGB camera with AI processing. We put everything into software.”
One of the advantages of Nex Team in terms of hardware is that it is relatively inexpensive. The Nex Playground has a suggested retail price of $249, although it drops to $199 during peak promotional periods. It's not cheap, but compared to US prices for the Switch 2 ($449.99), PS5 ($549.99 with disc drive), Xbox Series S (starting at $399.99), or Xbox Series X (starting at $599.99), it's not expensive either.
“It was very important to keep our prices affordable since we cater to families,” says Lee.
“We made conscious decisions. If we're making family games and we want four players, imagine you need four controllers – how much would that cost? We use one camera to see the entire living room and identify the four players. There is a very simple remote control. [to select games] which is very affordable. This is, of course, savings.
“Another place where we made the right choice was the hardware capabilities we chose. We're not going to compete with PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 or Switch. Our hardware capabilities are approximately at PS3 level; you can already create great, addictive games. We have just made an informed choice of the right equipment. We have a pretty powerful neural processing unit (NPU), so the AI capabilities are pretty good.”
Subscription model
Another lesson Nex Team learned from previous hits in the console market, especially those targeting family audiences like the Wii, is that while they sold a ton of hardware, limited connection speeds meant the audience wasn't as lucrative as it could have been. The answer was an $89/year Play Pass subscription.
“Now many more users are willing to subscribe,” says Lee. “As a business model it’s fantastic. At the time, the Wii expanded the market, but most of the audience didn't know Mario. They bought Wii Fit, Wii Sports and didn't buy many other Nintendo games. These clients were not very profitable.
“The subscription-based model allows us to continue to innovate for the customers we serve. It's a simple, fair business model that's 100% aligned with parents, so kids can't come in asking for more and more games.”
He continues: “It’s sustainable and allows us to not have to think about any other revenue model. Our production budget has increased for three years in a row, and we use this to create better games for our customers.”
Most of the games on Nex Playground are exclusive to the platform. Half of the games released last year were made through third-party deals, where Nex Team partners with the developer to work closely to get the most out of the platform.
Nex has recently received increased interest from studios, including “some major gaming companies.” As a result, the firm is increasing its staff to help manage the studios joining its platform.
“We're expanding our development team to support them and teach them how to use the platform's capabilities to create great games, and to work with them on […] push boundaries together,” Lee says. — We expand each other. It’s truly a healthy win-win.”
Thomas Kang, president of Nex and a veteran of the innovation divisions of Walmart, Amazon Games and Disney, adds: “David cares deeply about finding developers there who share our values and think alike about the world while serving kids and families. We think that [by finding] those people who have created games for this audience and understand the problems we are trying to solve, the product will ultimately be better.”
There are tons of games on Nex Playground. First of all, these are new games, such as the Snapchat filter on the Mirrorarma TV, the virtual pet game NexPets or the Beat Saber-style Starri. There are also licensed IPs including Bluey, Barbie, Unicorn Academy and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Rounding out the lineup are sports games like Go Keeper, HomeRun Heroes: StarStrikers and Bowling Strike.
The Nex Team believes that licensed intellectual property has been a contributing factor to the success of Nex Playground.
“Having something like Bluey on our platform helps build trust,” Lee explains. “Parents trust the platform more because they trust the IP to choose the right partners. For us, of course, it is very important to work with recognizable IP partners. It's also what kids want, what they want to interact with.”
One deal that Nex Team has been able to secure is a deal with the National Hockey League (NHL). “This partnership is growing,” says Kang. “All the other sports leagues have taken notice and we are talking to all of them about making their sports accessible to kids and families so they understand the skill sets and rules and start on their path to playing real sports. Parents really, really like it.”
Financial support
Nex Team boasts a stellar line-up of investors, including actors Simu Liu and Will Smith, soccer player Thierry Henry and the NBA, as well as companies such as Blue Pool Capital, Samsung Ventures and billionaire Mark Cuban. The company is not currently seeking further investment.
“We are starting to reach a self-sufficient state,” Lee says. “It is important that we continue to operate a sustainable business.”
After a tumultuous 2025, Nex Team has big plans for 2026. The company will bring Playground to Europe next year, although it is still trying to figure out exactly which markets to enter. After this, it is planned to launch the equipment in some Asian markets.
“Our expansion strategy is also very customer-centric,” explains Kang. “We're going to do this at a very measured pace. As we go international, we will be very careful about those markets, making sure that we have localized content and a localized user experience.”
“We want the playground to take its place in every living room in the world.”
David Lee
The Nex team expects Playground sales to exceed 1 million in the first half of 2026. But beyond that, the company still has many ambitious goals, and its CEO is in no rush to achieve them.
“Our goal will always be consistent service […] our customers are getting better and better,” says Lee. “We are ambitious; We want the day to come when Playground can find its place in every living room in the world. We want to establish the right relationships with each family we serve and ideally grow through word of mouth and reach more families. It's step by step. I'm a very patient person, so we built this way for eight years, and I don't mind spending the rest of my life doing it.”
Kang concludes: “There are 1.8 billion living rooms with TVs: we have a long way to go. We're just getting started.”
