What is the Nex Playground, and is it available in the UK?

After outselling the Xbox Series X/S during Black Friday last year, the Nex Playground made itself known to a wider audience, catching the eye of many would-be Nex owners in the UK, and there has been an exciting development for those in Ol' Blighty!

It's not often a new player steps into the console space, and since Sega sunsetted the Dreamcast in 2001, it has mainly just been Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft, but also mobile devices and PCs.

Much of the appeal is due to the simple plug-and-play nature of the Nex Playground, and that it encourages playing together, making it an ideal pick for families who don't want to faff around with multiple controllers or lengthy updates.

Certainly, it harkens back to simpler times, when consoles such as the PlayStation 2 and Nintendo GameCube were current-generation machines, with no downloads required.

But as for all things Nex Playground, including when it might come to the UK, read on!

What is the Nex Playground?

So, just what is the Nex Playground? Coming onto the scene in December 2023, it will be instantly familiar to anyone who played on the Nintendo Wii or Xbox 360 Kinect, in that it is a motion-controlled console that doesn’t require any physical controllers, just people.

It uses AI image processing to detect movements, and lets you play games like Fruit Ninja and lots of silly party games that are instantly understandable and easy to pick up and play.

You can also adjust the movement sensitivity for people with limited mobility, making it enjoyable for people with limited mobility. Other consoles require you to purchase additional adaptive controllers, which can often be expensive.

There is a simple remote to navigate menus, but anyone who has used a television in the last 50 years will quickly be able to come to grips with it.

It is also a conveniently small little cube, measuring only 3 inches on any side, making it easy to pop away or tuck under a television.

With the system having been out for two years now, more games have appeared on the Nex Playground, such as Bluey: Bust-a-Move, but it does come pre-loaded with other titles such as the aforementioned Fruit Ninja, as well as Go Keeper, Starri, Party Fowl and Whac-a-Mole.

The Play Pass monthly subscription sees new games added all the time, too, and with its low cost of $199.99 and ease of use, it’s understandable to see how the Nex Playground has picked up steam over the last couple of years.

Is the Nex Playground available in the UK?

The Nex Playground is slated to launch in the UK at the end of Q2.

This is according to CEO, David Lee, who clarified the exact timing on Reddit after it was revealed during the Consumer Electronics Show 2026 that the Nex Playground is coming to the UK.

Currently, users have to buy it via Amazon US, which can incur additional shipping costs and import duties.

Once US taxes are taken into consideration (which are not included in the listed price), the UK price will probably come to around £199.99 or so as well, with subscription pricing adjusted for GBP, though this could change owing to the memory pricing crisis currently affecting the industry.

Once we know more, we will update you accordingly.

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