Most gaming consoles weren’t designed with children in mind. Nex Playground was built from scratch with that as the starting point, and the company launching it in the UK today thinks the rest of the industry is about to be forced to catch up.
The console is aimed at kids aged 3 to 12. It uses an AI-powered camera to read player movement — no controller needed for most games — and all video processing happens directly on the device via an integrated Neural Processing Unit. Nothing goes to the cloud. The operating system is locked down completely, based on Android but with no third-party app installation possible. CEO David Lee calls privacy the company’s “number one” concern, and the hardware reflects that.
UK pre-orders opened today at £269, available through Amazon, Argos, and Smyths Toys.
The timing isn’t accidental. The UK’s Online Safety Act 2023 puts a duty of care on platforms likely to be accessed by children, and gaming companies are scrambling to comply. Microsoft already introduced age verification for Xbox social features in the UK last year. Sony is rolling out its own mandatory age checks for PlayStation communication features later in 2026.
Nex president Tom Kang doesn’t frame this as box-ticking. “We’re not a compliant organization, we’re a leading organization,” he said ahead of launch. The company is hiring a dedicated Trust and Safety specialist and wants to set what Kang calls “the gold standard” for the space.
Online multiplayer is coming to the console later this year, and even that has been designed around what Nex calls “symmetric, social consent” — both players must exchange unique codes to connect. No stranger can initiate contact, and once connected, there’s no video, audio, or text communication.
It’s a different approach to online gaming than anything currently on the market — and given that Microsoft is already building age verification into Xbox, the industry is clearly moving in this direction.
