The annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) isn’t the usual venue for LEGO to break big news – techies love displaying LEGO, but the bricks themselves aren’t your typical cutting-edge gadgets. That’s about to change with the announcement of the Smart Play system. Smart Bricks communicate with Smart Minifigures and Smart Tags that integrate sensors and spatial awareness into your builds, thanks to microchips smaller than a single stud. You can read about LEGO’s design process for the Smart Brick here.

As rumored, the new system debuts with the Star Wars theme with three all-in-one sets coming this March. Each of these will include a Smart Brick, charger, and at least one Smart Minifigure and Yag. The all-in-one sets include: 75421 Darth Vader’s TIE Fighter (69,99 EUR / 69,99 USD / 59,99 GBP), 75423 Luke’s Red Five X-wing (89,99 EUR / 99,99 USD / 79,99 GBP), and 75427 Throne Room Duel & A-wing (159,99 EUR / 159,99 USD / 139,99 GBP).  Presumably other sets will expand the Minifigure and Tag range but wouldn’t include a charging station. 

LEGO has, of course, experimented with ways for bricks and circuits to talk to each other before. Mindstorms empowered curious builders to experiment with robotics and programming as early as 1998. The Dimensions toys-to-life video game platform let gamers scan physical toys to activate the models in-game. Vidyo and Hidden World sets played with augmented reality apps. Most recently, the Super Mario line uses a smart figure and sensors to let players assemble courses, collect coins, and playback sounds and expressions.

As the sensors in Smart Play are smaller and more powerful, they seem primed to make it easier for kids to integrate sound effects, music, lights, and game behaviors into physical sets that are much closer to your typical LEGO models. Just how robust those behaviors are, we’ll have to see. Right now it looks like the primary focus here is on imaginative, physical play rather than the more STEM focused initiatives like Mindstorms and Spike. I’m very curious to see how adult LEGO fans integrate these new functions into creations.

BILLUND, DENMARK & LAS VEGAS, USA, 5 JANUARY 2026: The LEGO Group has unveiled LEGO® SMART Play™, a new interactive platform set to transform LEGO play experiences for kids and families. With this exciting innovation, builders can bring their LEGO creations to life in ways they’ve never imagined!

Showcased at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2026 in a presentation from Julia Goldin, Chief Product & Marketing Officer of the LEGO Group and Tom Donaldson, Senior Vice President & Head of Creative Play Lab at the LEGO Group, LEGO SMART Play™ represents one of the most significant evolutions in the LEGO System-in-Play since the introduction of the LEGO Minifigure in 1978.

Designed to inspire children, LEGO SMART Play™ turns their imaginative ideas into reality, bringing their creations to life with moments of surprise and discovery. The combination of LEGO SMART Play™’s platform elements – the LEGO SMART Brick, LEGO SMART Tags and LEGO SMART Minifigures – react in real time to bring an interactive play experience to kids that is full of exploration and imaginative storytelling.

Joining the LEGO Group at CES was Asad Ayaz, Chief Brand Officer of The Walt Disney Company and President of Disney Entertainment Marketing, and Dave Filoni, Chief Creative Officer of Lucasfilm, to announce that the first LEGO SMART Play™ building sets announced for fans will feature Star Wars™ – the perfect playground for epic storytelling, unforgettable characters and endless brick-built adventures. For the first time, with LEGO SMART Play™, a galaxy far, far away…. will play back! The new sets will launch on March 1st, 2026, in select markets.

What is LEGO SMART Play™?

The new platform features more than twenty patented world-firsts within its technology, and the LEGO SMART Brick – at the heart of the platform – is powered by a custom-made chip, measuring smaller than a standard LEGO stud.

The technology has been developed by the LEGO Group’s Creative Play Lab team to enable responsive physical play, breathing builder’s LEGO creations through advanced, invisible technology.

The LEGO SMART Brick is packed with technologies that bring play to life including sensors, accelerometers, light sensing and a sound sensor as well as a miniature speaker driven by an onboard synthesiser, and much more, in addition to easy wireless charging.

LEGO SMART Tags and LEGO SMART Minifigures are paired with the LEGO SMART Brick to power the system and allow builders’ creations to become interactive, responding to actions with appropriate sounds and behaviours, allowing for a truly responsive play experience. All elements are compatible with the existing LEGO System-in-Play.

“For over 90 years, the LEGO Group has sparked imagination and creativity in children around the globe. As the world evolves, so do we— innovating to meet the play needs of each new generation. LEGO SMART Play™ is the next exciting chapter in our LEGO System in Play and something we are super excited about being able to bring to the world at this scale,” said Julia Goldin, Chief Product & Marketing Officer of the LEGO Group.

Tom Donaldson, Senior Vice President & Head of Creative Play Lab at the LEGO Group said “The launch of LEGO SMART Play™ brings creativity, technology, and storytelling together to make building worlds and stories even more engaging, and all without a screen. We truly believe we are setting a new standard for interactive, imaginative experiences and can’t wait to see this innovation in the hands of kids when we launch this year.”

  LEGO SMART Play™ building sets come to the LEGO Star Wars™ Galaxy

Now, brick builders and Star Wars fans alike can interact with iconic scenes, characters and moments inspired by a galaxy far, far away…. like never before as the LEGO® SMART Play™ system makes its debut with three ‘All-In-One’ LEGO Star Wars building sets.

“Our teams work hand-in-hand with best-in-class licensees to bring technology and innovation to products that continue our storytelling in new and unexpected ways,” said Paul Gitter, Executive Vice President of Global Brand Commercialization at Disney Consumer Products. “This milestone in our long-time collaboration with the LEGO Group adds a new dimension to this legacy, continuing to help fans express their creativity and imagination by extending the Star Wars story through play.”

“We’ve worked with our incredible friends at Lucasfilm for over 25 years, and our focus has always remained on creating original, unique experiences for the fan community through our sets. With LEGO SMART Play, legendary stories and characters of the Star Wars galaxy will come to life like never before.” said Julia Goldin, Chief Product & Marketing Officer of the LEGO Group.

The three ‘All-In-One’ LEGO Star Wars sets will come with a LEGO SMART Brick with charger and at least one LEGO SMART Minifigure and LEGO SMART tag.

LEGO® Star Wars™ SMART Play™: Luke’s Red Five X-Wing building set™

A 584-piece set, including two SMART Minifigures (Luke Skywalker, in his iconic pilot suit, and Princess Leia), as well as Luke’s trusty companion, R2-D2, and Rebel Crew and Stormtrooper Minifigures.

This set includes an Imperial turret, transporter and command center, all of which unlock interactive features, such as laser-shooting sounds, engine sounds and lights plus refueling and repair sounds, through the use of the included LEGO SMART Brick, two LEGO SMART Minifigures and five LEGO SMART Tags.

LEGO® Star Wars™ SMART Play™: Darth Vader’s TIE Fighter™ building set

One of the galaxy’s most iconic villains and his fighter ship arrives as part of LEGO SMART Play™, allowing fans to replay and re-define the most epic battles on behalf of the Galactic Empire.

This 473-piece set features a brick-built Rebel Outpost and an Imperial Fueling Station, as well as a SMART Minifigure featuring Darth Vader and a Rebel Fleet Trooper Minifigure. The roar of the twin ion engines comes to life, among other interactive features, with the LEGO SMART Brick.

LEGO® Star Wars™ SMART Play™: Throne Room Duel & A-Wing™ building set

Fans will be able to re-enact and re-imagine one of the most memorable moments from the original Star Wars trilogy, the final lightsaber duel between Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader at the end of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi™. The 962-piece set comes with three SMART Minifigures featuring the characters Darth Vader, Emperor Palpatine and Luke Skywalker (Jedi).

Additionally, the set comes with a brick-built A-Wing Fighter and Pilot Minifigure, two Royal Guard Minifigures, and a SMART Tag-enabled cannon turret to defend the Emperor’s Throne Room.

For the first time in the history of LEGO Star Wars™, with LEGO SMART Play™ sets, the battle comes to life, allowing fans to recreate iconic scenes and interactions, as well as create new ones. Fans can unlock SMART features such as Lightsaber™ hums with the SMART Minifigures of Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker, the engine roar of the A-wing and even listen to “The Imperial March” with Emperor Palpatine sitting on his throne.

The LEGO SMART Play™ All-in-One sets from LEGO Star Wars will be available for pre-order from January 9th and available to purchase from the 1st March from www.LEGO.com, LEGO Stores and select retailers in launch markets.

LEGO SMART Play™ will continue to expand through new updates, launches and technology – with the LEGO Group set to reveal more additions in the future.

For more information about LEGO SMART Play™ – visit: https://www.lego.com/smart-play