LEGO NINJAGO SMART Play 2027: Investment Outlook

LEGO NINJAGO is rumoured to be joining SMART Play in August 2027, and that creates a fascinating collision between one of LEGO's strongest long-running investment themes and a product format with almost no retirement history.

Brick Fanatics reports, citing Instagram user buggyleaks, that eight NINJAGO SMART Play product numbers may arrive in August 2027, with a version of Kai's Mech reportedly among them. LEGO has not confirmed the wave, its specifications, prices or even that NINJAGO will receive SMART Play at all.

So this is not a "buy" story. It is an early risk story.

Public Investabrick data currently places LEGO® NINJAGO® at around 14% annualised growth across more than 600 sets. That is strong enough to make any major new NINJAGO format worth watching. But technology can change the investment behaviour of a LEGO set in ways that normal bricks do not.

What is actually reported

The report suggests eight product numbers, 71891 through 71897 and 71899, for an August 2027 release window. One is said to be Kai's Mech, while the remainder are unknown.

Brick Fanatics is explicit that the information is unconfirmed and that detailed concepts such as light-up mechs or sound-producing dragons are speculation rather than reported specifications.

That distinction matters. We do not yet know the price points, whether every set contains SMART Play hardware, how the technology is packaged, whether components are replaceable or how the products will be distributed.

Any investment conclusion today therefore has to remain at theme-and-format level.

NINJAGO's historic data gives the rumour credibility as an investment story

NINJAGO is not a theme investors can dismiss as purely children's play.

Investabrick's public data currently shows approximately 623 sets and around 14% annualised growth. Some of the strongest results sit in early spinner products and minifigure-led releases, while large display sets have also produced solid outcomes.

NINJAGO City Markets is currently shown around 25% above its $370 RRP in Investabrick's public data, while City Gardens is roughly 11% above its $350 RRP. Those examples are not direct comparators for SMART Play, but they show that adult collectors exist alongside the theme's core younger audience.

That dual audience is one reason the rumour matters.

Technology introduces a different kind of retirement risk

Traditional LEGO has an unusually simple advantage as a collectible: a brick from 1985 still connects to a brick made today.

Interactive technology can complicate that permanence.

If a future SMART Play set relies on electronic components, software support, specific hubs or companion functionality, collectors may eventually care about whether those features still work. That does not automatically make a technology-led set a poor investment. In fact, discontinued electronic systems can become collectible in their own right.

But the risk profile changes. A sealed conventional NINJAGO dragon can still do exactly what it was designed to do twenty years later. A technology-dependent product may have additional questions around compatibility and long-term functionality.

Until LEGO confirms the NINJAGO implementation, that should be treated as a risk to monitor rather than a reason to avoid the category.

The first SMART Play NINJAGO wave could have genuine first-generation appeal

If the rumour proves correct, the first wave may carry a collector label that later waves cannot recreate: first NINJAGO SMART Play.

First-generation status can be useful, particularly if the technology becomes a major part of LEGO's future. Early products often develop significance because they represent the beginning of a format rather than because they are objectively the best version.

The opposite can also happen. First-generation technology can be quickly improved, making early products feel clumsy or incomplete.

That is why the exact design matters. If Kai's Mech combines a strong conventional model with SMART functionality, it may remain desirable even if the technology ages. If the physical build exists mainly to demonstrate a gimmick, long-term demand could be more fragile.

What we want to see before making a recommendation

There are five pieces of information that would materially change the Investabrick view.

We need confirmed prices. We need to know which products actually include SMART components. We need to understand whether the technology can function independently of online services. We need minifigure details, because exclusive characters can become a major share of NINJAGO value. And we need distribution: LEGO-exclusive products behave differently from mass-market waves.

Most importantly, we need to know whether buyers are paying for a great NINJAGO set with technology added, or technology with enough bricks wrapped around it to justify a LEGO box.

Those are not the same proposition.

Investabrick verdict

Strong Early Interest - Await Official Confirmation. NINJAGO's roughly 14% public Investabrick AAG gives the rumoured SMART Play wave a strong foundation, and a first-generation format could become historically interesting if the system succeeds. But SMART Play introduces uncertainty that ordinary NINJAGO comparables cannot answer: technology longevity, compatibility and the risk that later generations improve rapidly. For now, the smartest play is surprisingly old-fashioned - wait for LEGO to actually announce the thing.