As many of you are aware, GANZ has not announced any new Webkinz plush pets in the past few months. The last new plush was the beautifully crafted Narwhal. We can now officially state that there will be no new Webkinz plush in 2019 and that the Narwhal will be the final plush toy of the “first generation” of Webkinz plush.
Our reasons for making this decision are three-fold:
- For any toy to be produced at an appropriate price, a minimum number need to be produced. Our retail orders for our new styles, even great ones like the Narwhal, had fallen below this minimum.
- Our attempts to move plush sales online through the eStore and Amazon did not meet our goals.
- After 14 years and over 500 unique pets, this generation of the toy line had run its course.
The reality is that at times every toy brand needs to take a break, evolve and reinvent. Many of the biggest toy brands in the world – My Little Pony, Transformers, Strawberry Shortcake – have had times where there were no toys on retail shelves.
Will this impact Webkinz.com? Not at all. One of the big developments in the past few years is the acceptance of online purchasing. When we launched Ganz eStore in 2008, many players didn’t understand the idea of buying “purely” virtual pets. Now we’re all used to buying virtual items and we’re happy to say eStore use has been going up! Many of our new eStore virtual pets have been well received and are among our best looking pets ever! As we’ve said elsewhere, GANZ is committed to Webkinz.com and with our desktop version coming soon, the future of the game is strong.
Will Webkinz plush be back? Definitely. GANZ was born as a plush toy company and lovable plush will always be near to our hearts. We have had many discussions about future products and how best to bring those products to market. We can’t say anything more about this at this time, but we do hope to have some more announcements later in the year.
In the meantime, you can still find Webkinz plush at Ganz eStore, and through other online retailers. All available plush are “while quantities last,” so if there is a specific pet you’d like, you will want to order it soon.
We’ve all had great experiences with our Webkinz plush and have those favorites that we feel closest to. While we may be taking a break from making new styles, our incredible range of amazing plush toys will forever be a core part of Webkinz World.
GANZ
The virtual pets are cute, but sometimes it’s nice to have something to hug.
Awwwww *sniff* We still have the first plush I got my kiddo (a pink and white cat) all those years ago, and she’ll be a legal adult next month. The years have flown by, and even though she hasn’t played in forever, she still enjoys seeing me bring home a Webkinz plush I found in a store.
Thanks for posting this, Ganz -I know a lot of players have been worried about the absence of new plush. For my entire life I’ve had a ton of stuffed toys, and I think at least 8-10 webkinz have been in my collection before I even officially started collecting them XD I still have most of my OG Webbies (rip pink ponies..) Now my eyes will forever be peeled for news of a “next generation” of webkinz whether it be in 5 years or 15 or 50!
Haha, same! XD
my daughters and I collected the plush Webkinz since 2006 and still enjoy playing the games involving my guys and gals
Your plush toys were among the best ever made.
oh oh thanks for the notice I dont buy anything online so I will have to go looking for plushys this weekend and buy them all hahahahaha
A lot of memories with buying pets in store. My grandma passed away on the 4th and I put my very first Webkinz, Otis the Pug, in her casket. In when I was 7 years old, my grandma and I were at The Dog Patch in Kentucky memorial day weekend. She bought me Otis, my first Webkinz. Every year since then, memorial day weekend we would go to The Dog Patch and she’ll get me a new Webkinz.
I am so sorry to hear this but I do understand.
WOW, thank you for finally addressing our concerns and I’m really excited about New Gen Ganz creations! It sounds very intriguing! So glad you aren’t throwing the baby out with the bath water, so to speak. And of course, all growing enterprises evolve! Look at Pokémon, a classic that has had a huge resurgence. I know it seems a bit dark, right now, but the more light you shed on this the better it is beginning to appear. Thanks again and here’s to a bright future! *clink*
I totally understand. To me you were growing a bit fast. I dont know how you kept up with a new plush every month for that long. Havent we run out of animals? I still have plushies that I have not entered the codes yet for. These codes will still be good, right? I love Webkinz and have been playing for many years. Keep up the great work, but please for the love of Goodness update The Magical Forest prizes!