BUDAPEST, Hungary | Production of the world-famous Rubik’s Cube has returned to Hungary more than four decades after manufacturing moved abroad, marking a homecoming for the puzzle invented by Hungarian architect and professor Ernő Rubik in 1974.
A new fully automated production line opened Tuesday, November 10, in Jászberény, with the facility expected to manufacture up to one million cubes annually. Rubik, 82, attended the inauguration, describing Hungary as the cube’s home and celebrating the return of the invention that became a global cultural phenomenon.
The manufacturing operation is being undertaken by Hungarian plastics manufacturer Jász-Plasztik, while Canadian toy company Spin Master, which owns the Rubik’s Cube brand, oversees the product’s global business. Robotic equipment will assemble the puzzles and test them for functionality and durability, replacing much of the manual production used during the toy’s early years.
The cube’s history began when Rubik, then teaching design at Budapest’s Academy of Applied Arts and Design, developed a wooden prototype to help students understand three-dimensional movement and spatial relationships. The original design consisted of 27 smaller blocks that could rotate independently while remaining connected.
Initially called the “Magic Cube,” the invention was patented in Hungary in 1977 and began appearing in Budapest specialty shops that year. Its international breakthrough came in 1980 after licensing arrangements with foreign toy companies helped bring the puzzle to markets worldwide.
Production eventually moved outside Hungary because the country struggled to obtain the materials and manufacturing capacity needed to meet international demand. The puzzle experienced an extraordinary commercial boom, with approximately 200 million units sold between 1980 and 1983. More than half a billion have now been sold worldwide, according to The Associated Press, and millions continue to be purchased annually.
Spin Master acquired the Rubik’s Cube brand in 2021, adding the internationally recognized puzzle to its portfolio of toys and games. The company’s decision to bring production back to Hungary restores an important connection between the product and its country of origin.
The puzzle has also maintained its popularity through international speed-solving competitions and online communities. According to the World Cube Association, the current record cited by The Associated Press was set by nine-year-old Xuanyi Geng of China, who solved the cube in 2.51 seconds in October 2026.
Beyond its commercial success, the Rubik’s Cube has become a lasting symbol of mathematical thinking, creativity and problem-solving. It has 43 quintillion possible configurations, yet every scrambled combination can be solved, making it a continuing challenge for enthusiasts across generations.
For Hungary, the return of production is more than a manufacturing development. It brings one of the country’s most recognizable inventions back to its birthplace, reconnecting a globally celebrated puzzle with the inventor and the nation that gave it to the world.
Paraluman P. Funtanilla
Paraluman P. Funtanilla is Tutubi News Magazine's Marketing Specialist and is a Contributing Editor. She finished her degree in Communication Arts in De La Salle Lipa. She has worked as a Digital Marketer for start-up businesses and small business spaces for the past two years. She has earned certificates from Coursera on Brand Management: Aligning Business Brand and Behavior and Viral Marketing and How to Craft Contagious Content. She also worked with Asia Express Romania TV Show.
- Paraluman P. Funtanilla
- Paraluman P. Funtanilla
- Paraluman P. Funtanilla
- Paraluman P. Funtanilla
