The Borant Corporation has finally figured out that the best way to sell you merchandise is to make you feel like you're opening a loot box, and frankly, I respect the hustle. Playmates Toys has delivered a line of Dungeon Crawler Carl collectibles that leans so hard into the in-universe packaging that you'd be forgiven for thinking the dungeon's AI signed off on every box personally. The Loot Boxes, Highlights Statues, and the six-inch action figures are all here, and the obsessive detail on the packaging is the real star of the show, even when the sculpts and paint apps don't quite match the hype.
This is a smart move for a series that has sold over 14 million copies and racked up 140 million hours of audiobook listening, per the NYCC Attendees Chase $2,000 Carl Comics in Free Giveaway reporting that last year's books were trading for up to two grand. The fandom is hungry, and Borant is feeding them. The Princess Donut Loot Boxes come with a mystery figure, and the one we saw features Donut passed out after too many Dirty Shirleys, which is the most accurate depiction of a celebrity cat I've ever seen in plastic form. The flocked texture is a nice touch, though I suspect Princess Donut's actual fur is far more glamorous than whatever synthetic fuzz they're using.
The Highlights Statues line is where the quality gets a little dicey. The figures are vibrant and capture the audio book artwork style well, but they're not heavy-duty, and the detail work is inconsistent. The statue of Donut riding Mongo with a severed mantaur behind them is a fun scene, but don't expect Iron Studios quality here. The action figures fare better, with Carl's Enchanted Nightgaunt Cloak featuring a magnet that lets Donut sit on his shoulder, which is a genuinely clever engineering choice. The box art is a masterclass in fan service, showing Carl and Donut with a crawler interface profile, inventory tabs, and the AI's signature tone. It's the kind of packaging that makes you want to keep the box and throw away the toy.
The real takeaway here is that Borant is treating this merchandise like actual dungeon loot: randomized, collectible, and designed to drain your credits. The mystery figure aspect means you're gambling on which variant you get, and the rarity chart on the back of the Loot Box is a blatant invitation to buy multiples. That's not a complaint, that's a warning. If you're a completionist, budget accordingly. And if you're waiting for the Peacock series, with Eric Heisserer and Christopher Yost as co-showrunners and Jeff Hays reprising his voice as Donut, these toys are your stopgap fix. The question is whether the show's Carl will be as good as the figure's painted-on boxers, because that's a high bar.