People of Play™ Announces Winners of 2025 Toy & Game Innovation Excellence Awards

CHICAGO, Nov. 10, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- People of Play™ (POP), a division of The Toy Association™, revealed the winners of the 18th annual Toy & Game Innovation Excellence (TAGIE®) Awards during a ceremony held November 8 at Joe’s Live Concert Venue in Rosemont, IL. The event honored the inventors, designers, suppliers, retailers, marketers, and PR teams whose creativity, passion, and collaboration continue to shape and inspire the global toy and game industry.

Themed “Friendship,” this year’s ceremony celebrated the connections and camaraderie that unite the toy and game community. Attendees from around the world came together to toast not only the groundbreaking innovation that drives the industry forward but also the deep personal connections that make the toy and game community truly special.

“The TAGIE Awards have always been about people: the brilliant minds and generous spirits who share their ideas, lift one another up, and make play possible,” said Mary Couzin, senior vice president and founder/leader of People of Play at The Toy Association. “Behind every hit toy or game is a community of creative souls who pour their hearts into bringing smiles to children and families everywhere. At this year’s TAGIE Awards, we celebrated not just their work, but the friendships that keep this industry thriving.”

Winners were determined by a public vote by consumers and the industry. The 2025 TAGIE Award winners are listed below:

Honorees:

Lifetime Achievement Award: Mike Moody, CEO, Seven Towns Ltd.
Lifetime Achievement Award: Phil Orbanes, game designer, author, and founding partner of Winning Moves Games
Industry Game Changer Award: Judy Ellis, founder of the world’s first baccalaureate program in Toy Design at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT)

Award Winners:

Adult/Family Game Innovator of the Year: Nick Hayes and Mattel Games Team
Breakout Innovator of the Year: Ron Weizman & Shooki Grasiani
Innovative Art and Visuals of the Year: Nate Schimelpfenig, Mindware
Innovative PR & Marketing Team of the Year: Disney's Amanda Luna, John "Cody" Hampton, and Tatum Yusz
Kidult Toy Innovator of the Year: POP MART
Most Innovative Licensed Product: Tim Walsh, The Playmakers
Most Innovative Retailer Award: POP MART
Most Innovative Vendor & Partner: Indy Toy Lab
Preschool Game Innovator of the Year: Moose Games Team
Preschool Toy Innovator of the Year: Jordan Goddard, Indy Toy Lab
Tech Game Innovator of the Year: Valentina Pereyra
Tech Toy Innovator of the Year: KID Group
Young Innovator of the Year: Persy Arcement

The TAGIE Awards were hosted by Karri Bean, senior licensing manager of Disney Consumer Products. JoAnn McLaughlin, senior vice president of licensed product, design, & development at Disney Consumer Products, delivered welcome remarks and Jeremy Padawer, chief brand officer at Jazwares, presented a keynote. This year’s awards were sponsored by Disney (Presenting Sponsor), Mattel, The Michael Kohner Corporation, Hasbro, Longshore, Nextoy, Super Impulse, The Playmakers, Baby Paper, Backdrop.com, Peggy Brown Creative, and Design Edge.

Founded in 2008, the TAGIEs celebrate the outstanding achievements of toy and game industry leaders from around the world. The awards ceremony takes place annually in the fall in conjunction with the Global Inventor Pitch & Innovation Conference, Chicago Toy & Game Fair, and the Young Inventor Challenge.

About People of Play™ peopleofplay.com
People of Play (POP), a division of The Toy Association™, leads the global toy and game industry in promoting innovation, creativity, and connectivity. A one-stop source of community for industry professionals, aspiring inventors, and people of all ages who love to play, People of Play hosts a play platform packed with resources and connection points as well as a wide range of events including the Chicago Toy & Game (CHITAG) Fair, the Toy & Game International Excellence (TAGIEs) Awards, the Young Inventor Challenge, the Toy & Game Inventor Pitch and Innovation Conference, Thought Leaders Summit, Toy Takedown and more.

About The Toy Association™ toyassociation.org / toyfoundation.org / peopleofplay.com / thegeniusofplay.org / playsafe.org
Founded in 1916, The Toy Association^™, Inc. is the business trade association representing all businesses involved in creating and delivering toys and youth entertainment products for kids of all ages. The Toy Association leads the health and growth of the U.S. toy industry, which has an annual U.S. economic impact of $155.7 billion, and its roughly 900 members drive the annual $42 billion U.S. domestic toy market. The Toy Association serves as the industry's voice on the developmental benefits of play and promotes play's positive impact on childhood development. The organization has a long history of leadership in toy safety, having helped develop the first comprehensive toy safety standard more than 40 years ago, and remains committed to working with medical experts, governments, consumers, and the industry on ongoing programs to ensure safe and fun play.

As a global leader, The Toy Association produces the world-renowned Toy Fair^™ in New York City; hosts marketplace activities at The Toy Building in Los Angeles; engages in state, federal, and international advocacy on behalf of its members; supports the inventor and design community through People of Play™ and its numerous assets and events, including the consumer-facing Chicago Toy & Game Fair; sustains the Canadian Toy Association; acts as secretariat for the International Council of Toy Industries and International Toy Industry CEO Roundtable; and chairs the committee that reviews and revises America's widely emulated ASTM F963 toy safety standard. The Toy Association's philanthropic arm is The Toy Foundation^™, a 501 (c)(3) children's charity that acts as the uniting force for the collective philanthropy of the toy industry. To date, The Toy Foundation has delivered the joy of play to 33 million children in need worldwide.

Contact: Emily Auriemma
People of Play
856-723-3055
emilya@carvecomms.com

Legal Disclaimer:

EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.