Playmates And Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles To End Decades-long Partnership After 2026

For the first time since the inception of the franchise, new broke on December 23rd that Playmates Toys and Viacom will not renew their license agreement for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. By the end of 2026, this effectively ends the toy manufacturer's partnership with the Heroes in a Half-shell after more than 40 years. Playmates Toys' work played a tremendous hand in TMNT becoming the marketing phenomenon it was through the late 1980's and the early 90's.

Negotiations between the parties regarding the renewal of the License Agreement had been ongoing since October 2025, but PICL has recently been formally notified by the Licensor that the License Agreement will not be renewed upon expiry on 31 December 2026. As a result, the rights of PICL to sell the Licensed Products shall cease on 31 December 2026, while the right to dispose its inventories of the Licensed Products will cease 90 days thereafter pursuant to the License Agreement.

The ending of the partnership wasn't necessarily at fault of Playmates themselves or vice versa. Viacom perhaps felt it was long due to shift marketing strategy in a new direction. Newer toys for the current iteration of animation (Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) were still in rotation, along with modern renditions of Playmates' classic lines. The sales always did well, so strong chances the change in direction comes from the top at Paramount to perhaps seek opportunities from Mattel or Hasbro. The liquidation and inventory clearance of the Playmates line will continue throughout 2027.