Sorry Tamagotchi fans, it’s AI time

When they said, “Nothing in this world is sacred,” they meant Tamagotchistoo, or at least Tamagotchi rip-offs. While you may remember your virtual pets from days gone by with all the analog goodness the 90s had to offer, it’s the year of our lord 2026, and everything must have AI. Yeah, All.

While the acceptthat I saw at CES 2026isn’t actually a Tamagotchi, it’s pretty much in all but name, and, as you might have already guessed from the words above, it’s AI-centric.

What exactly does this AI do? You know, just normal stuff that lets him “feel your touch” and remember “your voice, your stories, and your quirks.” It’s time to go further with your virtual pets, people. It’s not enough to click a few buttons until they inevitably die from neglect. On a material level, cute things are happening. The egg vibrates, shakes and grows, making for a fun tactile experience.

As far as abilities go, the Sweekar reportedly “needs your love, just like a real pet,” which also means it has moods like happy, angry, sleepy, and something Takway.Ai, who makes this little toy, calls “a devious smile,” which is basically just mischievous? I think? I shudder to think what else this could mean.

Much like a Tamagotchi, the Sweekar has growth cycles that include an “egg stage,” “baby stage,” “adolescent stage,” and “adult stage.” At each stage, the animal is meant to acquire certain abilities, continually grow, and better understand you and your personality.

More than anything, though, the Sweekar is centered around using AI for memory, so it can remember your name and favorite color and that time you forgot its birthday. The bill for this Tamagotchi therapy is going to be significant. The people at Takway.Ai tell me that it uses a combination of Google’s Gemini And ChatGPT to do so, and that anything you say to the Sweekar is private, although I obviously can’t verify the data practices of a company selling an AI Tamagotchi at CES.

There is also the whole problem with AI toys with minds of their ownwhich means you might want to think twice before giving this little guy to a child.

If an AI Tamagotchi is truly at the top of your list of things you absolutely must have, you could possibly throw some money at Sweekar’s Kickstarter this March. While there’s no official price yet, the makers of this little virtual pet say it will likely cost between $150 and $200.

Gizmodo is on the ground in Las Vegas all week bringing you everything you need to know about the technology revealed at CES 2026. You can follow our CES live blog here And find all our coverage here.