Rubik’s Cube Manufacturing Returns to Its Hungarian Roots
WHO:
ABC News Business - Ernő Rubik, a Hungarian architect, sculptor and professor, invented the Rubik’s Cube.
ABC News World - Ernő Rubik, a Hungarian architect, sculptor and professor, invented the Rubik’s Cube.
ABC News - Ernő Rubik, 82, attended the opening of the new production line in Jászberény.
ABC News - Steve Radewych, a senior vice president at Canadian toy company Spin Master, spoke at the opening; Spin Master owns the Rubik’s Cube trademark.
ABC News - Nine-year-old Xuanyi Geng set the current speed-solving record, according to the World Cube Association.
WHAT:
ABC News Business - Production of the Rubik’s Cube is returning to Hungary, where the puzzle was invented.
ABC News World - Production of the Rubik’s Cube is returning to Hungary, where the puzzle was invented.
ABC News - The cube has sold more than half a billion units; millions are sold annually.
ABC News - The new Jászberény line plans to produce 1 million cubes annually.
ABC News - The record for solving the cube is 2.51 seconds.
ABC News - Radewych described the cube as “more than a toy” and “a global social phenomenon.” He said it represents intelligence, problem-solving and cognitive discipline, and has brought “joy — and frustration — to many generations.”
WHERE:
ABC News - The production line opened in Jászberény, Hungary.
ABC News - Rubik invented the cube while teaching design at the Academy of Applied Arts and Design in Budapest.
ABC News - The speed-solving record was set in China.
WHEN:
ABC News Business - Rubik invented the cube in 1974.
ABC News World - Rubik invented the cube in 1974.
ABC News - Rubik completed a wooden prototype in 1974; it rotated on multiple axes and comprised 27 blocks.
ABC News - The first 5,000 units, then called the “Magic Cube,” were sold in Budapest beginning in 1977.
ABC News - About 200 million cubes were sold between 1980 and 1983, during what Rubik called “the first big wave.”
ABC News - The record was set “last month.”
WHY:
ABC News - Rubik said he sought to create a three-dimensional object that was “infinite.”
ABC News - Rubik said Hungary “is the home of the cube. The cube was born here.”
ABC News - Rubik said difficulty obtaining materials in socialist Hungary meant they “couldn’t fulfill the needs of the market worldwide.”
HOW:
ABC News - Robotic arms assemble the cubes and test their functionality and durability; Rubik said this automation differs greatly from the early hand assembly.
ABC News - The cube was licensed to a British toy company and then a U.S. toy company, and production moved abroad.
ABC News - Rubik described the cube as a “transformable sculpture” combining art and engineering, with users able to manipulate it into nearly endless variations.
(UPDATED November 13, 2026 10:58 UTC)
Rubik’s Cube production is returning to Hungary, where inventor Ernő Rubik attended a factory opening. The new line aims to produce one million cubes annually. Nine-year-old Xuanyi Geng holds the speed-solving record, completing the puzzle in 2.51 seconds.