Formula 1 and Mattel are extending their Hot Wheels partnership from physical models into downloadable game content, creating a second product format from the same licensed cars.
The F1 Car Collection Pack for Hot Wheels Infinite Rush will add all 22 cars from Formula 1's 2026 grid in March 2027. Formula 1 says it will be the first time official F1 cars have appeared in a Hot Wheels video game and the largest gaming activation so far in the partnership.
Milestone, the Italian racing-game studio behind Infinite Rush, says each digital car is recreated from its Hot Wheels die-cast counterpart. The cars will enter the game's Speeder category alongside a launch roster of more than 150 vehicles.
That detail makes this more than a conventional vehicle-licensing announcement. Formula 1, Mattel and Milestone are building a physical-to-digital product loop: championship and team identities become die-cast models, those models become game assets, and the game creates another route back to the underlying licensed product.
One licence, several product surfaces
Formula 1 and Mattel announced their multi-year Hot Wheels collaboration in October 2024. The original plan covered a full range of 1:64-scale products featuring Formula 1 teams, beginning with a limited-edition collector car and expanding through the 2025 season and beyond.
The March 2027 pack moves that programme onto consoles and PC. Infinite Rush is available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2 and PC storefronts, as well as the ROG Xbox Ally devices identified in the partners' announcement.
For the rights holder, the advantage is not simply another logo placement. The same team liveries and Hot Wheels interpretations can now support physical sales, game downloads, platform promotion and ongoing player engagement. For Mattel, the game gives its die-cast designs a playable life. For Milestone, the 22-car grid supplies a recognisable collection with an existing retail audience.
The partners have not disclosed the pack's price, revenue split, guaranteed payments, sales targets or whether individual Formula 1 teams receive separate consideration. The announcement also does not set out how sponsor marks, livery updates or rights expiries will be handled. Those omissions limit any valuation of the deal.
A three-party delivery chain
The structure divides the work across three specialist businesses. Formula 1 supplies championship rights and access to the grid. Mattel owns Hot Wheels and the die-cast product language on which the digital cars are based. Milestone develops the game and must integrate the collection across supported hardware and storefronts.
That chain creates a useful supplier lesson. Reusing a licensed design is not costless. A 22-car pack still requires digital modelling, approval of team and sponsor identities, quality assurance, platform certification, localisation, marketing assets and a coordinated release timetable. Centralising the collection can make those costs easier to spread across the full grid, but the commercial benefit depends on sales and engagement after launch.
Independent licensing publication License Global described the pack as the largest gaming activation yet between Formula 1 and Hot Wheels. Specialist racing-game outlet Traxion separately reported that the content will arrive in March 2027 and place the cars in Infinite Rush's fastest category.
Neither report provides financial terms. Traxion notes that the pack is expected to be available for an additional fee depending on edition, but the partners' official announcements do not publish a standalone price. MRI therefore treats paid distribution as a product-format signal rather than a disclosed revenue forecast.
What teams and commercial partners should measure
For teams, inclusion in a full-grid pack offers reach without each organisation having to build a separate game. It can put team colours in front of players who enter through the Hot Wheels brand rather than through a dedicated Formula 1 simulation.
Uniform inclusion does not guarantee uniform value. Teams with stronger retail demand, more recognisable liveries or more active content around the launch may capture more attention. The central package also leaves unanswered how performance data will be shared with teams and sponsors.
The most useful measures would include pack attach rate, play time by car, geographic sales, repeat engagement and any lift in related die-cast demand. Cross-promotion could also be measured through trackable links, retailer promotions or codes packaged with physical products. None of those mechanisms has been announced.
Promoters and suppliers should watch the operating model as closely as the sales result. A reusable digital asset can keep a sponsorship or licensing programme active between races, but it introduces approval and version-control work that physical merchandise teams may not normally own. Clear responsibility for sponsor changes, historic liveries and end-of-term takedowns becomes part of the contract.
The commercial significance of the F1 Car Collection Pack is therefore its connected product architecture. Formula 1 and Mattel are no longer treating die-cast and gaming as isolated licences. They are turning the same grid into merchandise, software and a recurring engagement channel. The March launch will show whether that integration converts brand reach into measurable digital demand.