Everyone and their mother is throwing it back to 2016 on social media, so we thought we'd do a 10-year rewind for the LEGO Group.
Celebrities, brands, and everyone you went to school with are posting throwbacks to 2016, after a growing trend of people getting nostalgic about life and the internet ten years ago. It got us thinking about how much has changed over the last decade in the world of LEGO, so we thought we'd take a trip down memory lane.
Generally speaking, 2016 was a record-breaking year for the LEGO Group in terms of profit, hitting 37.9 billion DKK (£4.3 billion) compared to 74.3 billion DKK (£8.6 billion) in 2024. In fact, the LEGO Group turned over DKK 34.6 billion in just the first half of 2025, highlighting the company's staggering growth over the years.
The LEGO House was also scheduled to open in 2016, although it wouldn't actually open until the following year due to unforeseen delays.
New LEGO themes in 2016
Zooming in more closely on what hit shelves in 2016, the LEGO Group launched two new themes: Angry Birds and Nexo Knights. The former would only run for this year, launched to celebrate the release of The Angry Birds Movie.
The latter was more long-term, running until 2018 and producing dozens of sets to accompany the TV show of the same name. The theme blended fantasy and sci-fi, following knights embarking on adventures equipped with technological weapons.
Nexo Knight was also one of the LEGO Group's many attempts to integrate an app into LEGO building, although that attempt didn't last long. Scanning shield codes in the sets unlocked digital content, encouraging builders to play mini-games in the app.
Major LEGO releases from 2016
Fewer LEGO sets were released in 2016 as in more recent years, although still with a very respectable 848 releases compared to 2025's 1,083, according to data from Brickset. Some of the biggest highlights from that year include 71040 Disney Castle (a precursor to 2023's 43222 Disney Castle) and LEGO Ghostbusters 75827 Firehouse Headquarters.
Both show that, even 10 years ago, the LEGO Group was tapping into popular IPs and capitalising on them with detailed, high-piece-count models.
Naturally, you can't talk about licensed LEGO sets without discussing Star Wars, and LEGO Star Wars made history with what some would class as the best brick-built Death Star ever: 75159 Death Star. Over 4,000 pieces and 27 minifigures come together in this UCS build, picking out various key scenes from onboard the war machine, from the trash compactor to the Imperial council room.
Other LEGO releases in 2016 capitalised on movies from that year, including Star Wars' Rogue One and Marvel's Captain America: Civil War. In-house LEGO themes like NINJAGO and City also thrived, with dozens of releases between them.
What do you remember about LEGO back in 2016? Do you have a favourite set from that year? Let us know in the comments.
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