Bluey: Let’s Play hits 75 million downloads with new minigames

Bluey: Let’s Play has passed 75 million downloads, and Budge Studios is using that audience to push its biggest update yet. The new drop adds a hairdresser minigame, a BBQ grillmaster activity, and Dress-up Mode, which lets kids keep silly or stylish cosmetics on as they move through the rest of the game.

That update makes sense for a Bluey game because Budge Studios has built it around pretend play, not pressure. The company describes Bluey: Let’s Play as an all-ages, kid-friendly subscription app that leans on imagination, and says it is available on multiple platforms in seven languages. Hairdressing and backyard BBQ duty fit the show’s everyday family-scenario style cleanly, giving kids simple roles to swap between without asking them to learn a complicated control scheme.

The mobile audience has clearly bought into that formula. The App Store listing shows 1.1 million ratings, an Editors’ Choice badge, a 4+ age rating, and a current size of 179.2 MB. The game first launched in August 2023 as the first Bluey mobile app, with BBC Studios and Budge Studios bringing it to the Apple App Store, Google Play, and Amazon Appstore. Hitting 75 million downloads in less than three years shows how far a preschool license can go when the loop is this easy to understand and this easy to replay.

Budge Studios, founded in 2010 in Montreal, has made a business out of licensed kids’ apps, and Bluey: Let’s Play sits near the top of that stack. The studio also points to a 2023 Kidscreen Best Game App win, while its wider portfolio includes names like Barbie, PAW Patrol, My Little Pony, and Thomas & Friends. Bluey is the standout here because the game stays faithful to what makes the series work: Bluey, Bingo, Bandit, and Chili in a house full of make-believe.

The real story in this update is not just the download count, it is what Budge is doing with it. Hairdresser, BBQ grillmaster, and keep-on costumes are the kind of low-friction additions that turn a hit mobile game into something parents can hand back to kids again and again.