Hot Wheels NFT market drops to $1.5B as Mattel halts new releases

Mattel has announced that it will suspend the release of new Hot Wheels Virtual Garage NFT series and feature drops beginning in 2025, citing a reassessment of its digital collectibles strategy based on shifts in the virtual collectibles market.

“As we evaluate the changing world of virtual collectibles, we’ve determined the time has come to end our Series and Feature Drops in 2025 and onward,” the company stated.

While no new NFT collections or features are planned for the foreseeable future, Mattel confirmed that users’ current Hot Wheels NFT collections and the Mattel Digital Collectibles Marketplace will remain accessible through at least 2025.

Collectors can continue to buy, sell, and trade their existing NFTs within the Mattel marketplace, and all outstanding redemptions will be honored as previously promised.

However, Mattel clarified that there is no current option to transfer NFTs to external wallets or other marketplaces, though the company is exploring solutions for this limitation.

Mattel launched the first Hot Wheels NFT Garage series in November 2021 in partnership with the Worldwide Asset eXchange, with the most recent release, series 10, debuting in December 2024.

The announcement comes amid a broader downturn in the NFT market, with overall sales dropping sharply by 63% year-over-year in the first quarter of 2025, falling to $1.5 billion from $4.1 billion during the same period in 2024.

Mattel’s decision follows similar moves by other brands, such as Nike, which closed its NFT marketplace RTFKT earlier this year, while some organisations like FIFA continue to expand their digital collectible offerings.

“We are developing a long-term plan for Virtual Collectibles and will share updates with the community in the future,” Mattel emphasised, signaling ongoing evaluation of its position in the evolving NFT landscape.