General Information
Release Date: October 2025
Price Point: $24.99 (depending on retailer)
Retailer: Target Exclusive with limited stock available on Hasbro Pulse
Accessories: Rifle, Rocket Launcher (non-working), Rocket
Official images and text in italics are from Amazon.com
- TRANSFORMERS DEVASTATION SIDESWIPE: This Transformers Studio Series Sideswipe figure features game-inspired deco and details
- 4.5-INCH DELUXE CLASS TRANSFORMERS FIGURE: In robot mode, the Transformers action figure is 4.5 inches (11 cm) tall
- CONVERT BETWEEN ROBOT AND CAR MODE IN 16 STEPS: This Transformers toy figure converts between modes in 16 steps
- ARTICULATED FOR PLAY AND DISPLAY: Studio Series Transformers figures feature articulation for display-worthy poses or action-packed play
- 2 ACCESSORIES THAT ATTACH IN BOTH MODES: Figure comes with shoulder rocket and blaster accessory pieces
- GIFT TRANSFORMERS COLLECTIBLES: Transformers action figures make a great gift for boys and girls 8 and up or anyone who collects Transformers toys
Experience the epic action of the Transformers Devastation video game with the Transformers Studio Series Sideswipe toy! Part of the MTMTE Collection, the 4.5-inch (11 cm) figure converts from robot action figure to car toy in 16 steps. With game-inspired details, intricate poseability, and attachable accessories like a shoulder rocket and blaster, this Sideswipe action figure makes an awesome addition to any collection. Look for more Transformers collectible toys (sold separately, subject to availability) featuring favorite characters like Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Megatron, and more to create a lineup that is — More Than Meets the Eye.
TRANSFORMERS and HASBRO and all related trademarks and logos are trademarks of Hasbro, Inc. Includes figure, 3 pieces, and instructions. Figure scale: 4.5 inches (11 cm) Ages 8 and up Warning: Choking Hazard - Small parts. Not for children under 3 years.
Background:
Back in 2018, Hasbro released Sideswipe as part of their Siege toy line and he quickly became a fan favorite. Little did the collective fandom know that in the years to come we would be seeing this base sculpt/design for years to come! From 2018 to 2025 the Siege Sideswipe design was reused, retooled and redeco'd into many other figures including:
- Deep Cover
- Clampdown
- TigerTrack
- Red Alert
- Gigawatt
- Kingdom Sideswipe
- Legacy G2 Sideswipe
- Shattered Glass Sideswipe
- Legacy Armada Wheeljack
In 2025, Hasbro decided to resurrect this base tooling once again and release it as "Gamer Edition" Sideswipe based on his appearance in the "Devastation" video game. This is a follow up to the Troop Builder Two Pack released in August of the same year.
Packaging:
In 2025 Hasbro decided to unify the look of the packaging for the Transformers Generations lines. Studio Series boxes largely carry over the same design with rectangular boxes, though this year they feature plastic windows again! Like previous years the primary color of the boxes are black with the Studio Series logo represented by blue line with black lettering. However, the vertical Transformers logo has been reset to its original horizontal position, now placed under the figure. The media the character comes from ("Devastation") is on the lower left hand side and its name is next to it. The character art (in both modes) is where the vertical "Transformers" logo used to be. True to the style of Target exclusives recently, the artwork is in muted, red, grey and black colors. On the other side are a series of symbols including an Autobot symbol (despite this being a Decepticon), a callout for the 17 step transformation and "8+" for the recommended age. The figure is now almost in full view from head to toe since it is protected by a plastic window.
The back of the box features a section on top showing the symbol featuring a screenshot from the "Devastation" game . It also features her name and a blurb in multiple languages that says "SIDESWIPE bravely battles MEGATRON in an attempt to interrupt the takeover of the Proudstar.". Below that the figure is shown in both modes calling out an 16 step transformation. For Studio Series these changes are relatively minor and the packaging still looks great and I'm happy the plastic windows are back. It never looked right to me to have over half the figure obscured in packaging. This allows the figure to be mostly shown off in box.
Accessories:
Sideswipe includes three accessories, all from previous releases of the figure. Two are the "rocket launcher" (non working) and "rocket/blaster" that were included with Legacy G2 Sideswipe. The rocket is slightly retooled from its original Siege release with the peg on it having been removed and the peg in back being a bit longer. This was also done for Shattered Glass Sideswipe. My guess is this was done for safety reasons. He also includes a third weapon: a blaster using the same sculpt as the one included with Kingdom Sideswipe and TigerTrack.
The "rocket launcher" and the rifle are made up of black plastic. The rifle features silver paint while the rocket launcher is painted white. The rocket is made of red plastic with white and silver paint on it. Functionally these accessories are the same as the previous releases featuring multiple 5mm pegs and ports as well as a tab on the launcher to attach to Sideswipe's shoulder. The rifle and the rocket both feature ends that can accommodate Blast Effects.
Robot Mode:
Despite being Sideswipe, this figure uses Red Alert's head. That makes this figure more of a redeco of Legacy G2 Sideswipe more than Kingdom Sideswipe. The thing is, when Legacy Sideswipe was first advertised, stock photos clearly showed it would be using the Red Alert head. This time out, the stock photos of this figure do actually use the "correct" Sideswipe head (the horns are the biggest giveaway) so somewhere out there is a production sample of this figure with the correct head, then somewhere in production the head was swapped. My guess would be that since they ran this tooling one way with Legacy Sideswipe they just decided to run it that way again in different colors. The result is a bit of a curiosity, a G1 themed Sideswipe figure with Red Alert's head. How appealing folks find that will vary from fan to fan. Personally I think it makes this figure unique and adds to its appeal despite the loss of "game accuracy".
It would be easy to look at this figure and mistake it for the Kingdom version. The head sculpt aside, the two share a lot of the same basic deco. Most of the figure is made up of red, black and white plastic and even the color layouts are very similar with red making up the torso, shoulders, back and chunks of the legs. White makes up the arms and thighs while black makes up other parts like the head, waist and lower leg panels. That said, there are some differences. First, the red plastic is a much deeper and slightly darker color than the red used for Kingdom Sideswipe. Then, the deco varies on smaller bits. For instance, the face is grey instead of silver and the feet are painted silver instead of white. The deco pattern on the headlights is also different. Instead of just painting the headlights themselves, the entire headlight area is painted silver with an "L" shaped pattern that was found on the game model. This was partly inspired by the design and deco on Universe 2.0 Sideswipe which was the "main" Sideswipe figure when "Devastation" was released.
All the joints on my copy of this figure are still nice and tight, which becomes more of a feat every time they use this base tooling. The weapons also attach without a problem.
Transformation to Vehicle Mode:
- Detach the accessories and set them aside for now.
- Straighten out the arms and legs.
- Swing open the front panels on the lower legs.
- Swing the feet up into the lower legs.
- Rotate the waist around.
- Swing the front of the vehicle mode up.
- Swing the arms up.
- Swing the small panels on the back panel out.
- Swing the lower legs up over the thighs, then swing the lower leg panels back into place.
- Swing the arms down, then swing them up at the elbow.
- Swing the fists inward (but not all the way).
- Swing the arms into the bottom of the vehicle.
- Swing the flaps on the sides down.
- Swing the panel from the mid-body of the robot mode down.
- The weapons can be attached to the ports on the sides and top of the vehicle.
Vehicle Mode:
In vehicle mode Sideswipe mostly shows off red plastic. Somehow in this form the front half of the vehicle seems to be made of slightly darker plastic than the rear of the car, but I wonder if that's partly a trick of light. It's a subtle effect and doesn't cause any issues, it's just curious to me. The biggest deco difference (aside from the aforementioned headlights) are the windows. The windows are blue and the windshield has white lines on them, giving the vehicle a very "animated" look inspired by the game. It looks beautiful but unfortunately winds up highlighting a missed opportunity for the robot mode. I wish the robot mode had "streaks" like this on the chest and legs like the game model. It really would have added to the "Gamer" inspired deco.
All the weapons still attach nice and tight to the vehicle and the wheels roll just fine.
Final Thoughts:
If you are a fan that already owns Kingdom Sideswipe then I really do not see a great need to pick up this figure. Aside from the car windows, the deco changes on this figure are not dramatically different than the Kingdom version. However, if you missed out on that figure then this is a perfect change to get an "Earth Mode" Sideswipe at retail price. This figure is recommended, but I believe the audience for it is fairly limited among hardcore collectors. Younger fans who may not have been around for the previous versions of this figure should absolutely add this to their Autobot armies.
Pros:
- I really like this sculpt (wrong head aside) and it really has stood the test of time.
- Good deco.
- All joints are still nice and tight even after so many uses.
Cons:
- The deco could have used some more streaks in robot mode to look more like the model in the game.
