LEGO’s New PS1 Model Is Arguably the Coolest Gaming Set of 2026 (Review)

Over the past few years, LEGO has continued to deepen its relationship with a number of different gaming companies and brands. Arguably the biggest crossover on this front has been LEGO’s new lineup of Pokemon products that have arrived this year, but other than this, further collabs with Super Mario, The Legend of Zelda, Minecraft, and Fortnite have continued to come about as well. Despite this, gaming giant PlayStation has rarely collaborated with LEGO, outside of a couple of sets tied to Horizon and Gran Turismo.

Now, that has finally changed, as LEGO has brought to life the PlayStation console that started it all. Coming in at nearly 2,000 pieces, the new LEGO model of the PS1 represents the biggest partnership yet between LEGO and PlayStation. Not only is it a set that PlayStation fans who have been with the company since its beginning will naturally love, but it’s one that LEGO has put a ton of care into, making it one of the best gaming-adjacent models that have been released in all of 2026.

LEGO PlayStation
Set Number: #72306
Number of Pieces: 1,911
Price: $179.99
Release Date: October 4, 2026

LEGO’s PS1 Is a High-Quality Build That Perfectly Replicates the Actual Console

My fear coming into this LEGO PS1 build is that it would be a very bland set to put together. Oftentimes, sets that are predominantly one color can become a bit tedious over a span of many hours. Fortunately, LEGO offsets this in a number of different ways, leading to the PlayStation becoming a thoroughly engaging and exciting set to assemble.

Outside of including a brickified version of the original PlayStation controller, this LEGO model of the console operates in the same way as the actual platform and comes in at virtually a 1:1 scale. The top lid of the set can slowly lift open when pressing the corresponding “Open” button, and pressing the “Power” button results in a green LEGO piece appearing where the light is on the actual PS1. Although the buttons have a tendency to stick in my experience, this, combined with the fact that the controller can actually plug into the set, makes it a perfect recreation of the PS1 in virtually every way.

The LEGO PS1 also comes with two internal dioramas associated with Ape Escape and Gran Turismo. Each diorama is quite colorful and does a relatively decent job of paying homage to the games they’re tied to. Although I wish there was a bit more detail included with each (or even a minifigure or two), I do love that LEGO found a way to reference some of the most iconic franchises tied to the PS1, which makes this set more of a celebration of the console generation as a whole and not simply the hardware.

One thing that really made the LEGO PS1 much nicer for me is that there aren’t many stickers included in the set. LEGO has often used stickers a bit too much in many of its previous sets, and I feared that this would be the case with the PlayStation. Fortunately, the stickers that are included are entirely tied to the Ape Escape and Gran Turismo dioramas. This means that all of the different icons and wording that appear across the PlayStation and its accompanying controller are actual pieces. This might seem like a small thing, but it really makes the final version of the PlayStation look that much nicer once it’s fully assembled.

The LEGO PS1 Is Filled With Great Easter Eggs and Callbacks to the Roots of PlayStation

Outside of the basics, LEGO pushes this PlayStation set one step further by incorporating a number of different homages and Easter eggs. The most prominent in this regard is seen on the floor of the set, as it contains a larger version of the original red, yellow, blue, and green PlayStation logo. You can only get a look at this logo if you remove the dioramas, but it’s a nice way of making use of nearly every square inch that the build offers.

In this same vein, LEGO also tries its best to make this iteration of the PS1 look like it’s actually made up of various tech components. Upon lifting open the model, the front and back sides of the set contain pieces that look as though they’re supposed to be part of a motherboard. While this part of the model isn’t expansive, it’s again the attention to detail that makes this such an enjoyable set to see come together.

Perhaps my favorite element of this LEGO PlayStation, though, was found outside of the set itself. In the intro of the manual that explains how to put the PlayStation together, LEGO includes a few write-ups explaining the history of the PS1, Ape Escape, and Gran Turismo. The coolest part of this, however, is that Ken Kutaragi, who is known as the “father” of PlayStation, has a message of his own that’s completely unique to this set. Although Kutaragi hasn’t worked at Sony in nearly two decades, it’s awesome to see that LEGO was able to get a small contribution from him for this PlayStation model that allows him to reflect on the roots of the brand.

If you’re an old-school PlayStation fan who grew up with the PS1, it’s hard not to love this new LEGO recreation of the console. Although it’s a relatively simple build, LEGO has put a lot of love and care into this to make it something that’s just as much about celebrating PlayStation’s history as it is about tapping into nostalgia. This, when combined with the solid price-per-piece of the set, makes it one of the better gaming products LEGO has released in quite some time, and is hopefully the first of many more products tied to PlayStation to arrive in the future.

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An advance copy of the LEGO PlayStation was provided by PlayStation for the purpose of this review.