Here are the stories that the toy industry couldn’t stop reading and talking about last month.
It’s August, and that means it’s time to look back on the biggest toy stories and hottest products of July.
With major industry events, including The Toy Insider‘s Sweet Suite, Comic-Con International: San Diego (SDCC), and Gen Con, the month was stacked with new product reveals, mid-year retail launches, and a ton of excitement carrying the momentum of the first half into the early days of the back half of the year (including the July 31 debut of our Action, Adventure, & Mystery Issue). Notably, Mattel and Hasbro asserted dominance of the top 10 stories, but the power of newness from Wow! Stuff, Rokimoto, and One Piece managed to join the party. Check out the hottest stories below.
The most-read, clicked, and shared stories at The Toy Book last month.
- Mattel Unveils Miley Cyrus as the Newest Addition to Its Barbie Signature Series Lineup
- Round1 Offers ‘One Piece’ Exclusives at U.S. and Japan Locations
- Hasbro Debuts Interactive ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Sword at SDCC
- Hasbro Reigns Over Hyrule with ‘Legend of Zelda’ Licensing Deal
- Mattel Debuts New Monster High Dolls
- SDCC Cover Reveal: G.I. Joe x Tomb Raider’s Lara Croft Graces The Toy Book’s Action, Adventure, & Mystery Issue
- EXCLUSIVE: Rokimoto Launches Chase Case
- SDCC 2026: Must-Attend Toy, Game, and Licensing Industry Programming
- Hasbro Launches Blooms by Play-Doh
- Wow! Stuff Debuts Fuggler Puppetronics Line
Beyond the Top 10, this year’s Specialty Toys & Gifts Issue and Licensing & Entertainment Issue, featuring The Licensing Book, continued drawing reads, while our latest conversation with Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks missed cracking the Top 10 by just a couple of clicks.
The Top 10 most-searched-for toys and games.
Click here for the full archives of previous Toy Book Top 10 features.
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About the author
James Zahn
James Zahn, AKA The Rock Father, is Editor-in-Chief of The Toy Book and Co-President of The International Toy Magazines Association (ITMA). He is also a Senior Editor at The Toy Insider and The Pop Insider, and Editor of The Toy Report, The Toy Book‘s weekly industry newsletter. As a pop culture and toy industry expert, Zahn has appeared as a panelist and guest at events including Comic-Con International: San Diego (SDCC), New York Comic Con, Wizard World Chicago, and the ASTRA Marketplace & Academy.
Zahn has more than 30 years of experience in the entertainment, retail, and publishing industries, and is frequently called upon to offer expert commentary for publications such as Forbes, Marketwatch, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, USA Today, Reuters, the Washington Post, and more.
James has appeared on History Channel’s Modern Marvels, was interviewed by Larry King and Anderson Cooper, and has been seen on Yahoo! Finance, CNN, CNBC, FOX Business, NBC, ABC, CBS, WGN, The CW, and more.
Zahn joined the Adventure Media & Events family in 2016, initially serving as a member of the Parent Advisory Board after penning articles for the Netflix Stream Team, Fandango Family, PBS KIDS, Sprout Parents (now Universal Kids), PopSugar, and Chicago Parent. He eventually joined the company full time as a Senior Editor and moved up the ranks to Deputy Editor and Editor-in-Chief.
