#10273 LEGO Haunted House was announced today, alongside an official statement about the new packaging design (which we have already seen on several previous 2020 LEGO sets aimed at adults). According to LEGO, these sets “feature the new stylish packaging designed to reflect the sophisticated nature of the creative process.”

New packaging marked 18+ designed to appeal to adults.

These sets have revised packaging with a smaller LEGO logo in the lower-left corner, and additional product details displayed on a ribbon across the bottom of the box. Eagle-eyed readers will also notice that they are all marked with an age recommendation of 18+. I don’t think this reflects an increase in technical difficulty, so much as a consious branding decision to use the age associated with adulthood in most of the world.

A narrow ribbon includes product details along the bottom of each box.

The press release included this quote from Senior Marketing Manager Anders Hellegaard Iversen: “So many of our older builders love the Creator Expert products, as they allow them to show off their passion for the bricks. Whether it’s their favorite film moments, sport icons, travel destinations, buildings, fairgrounds or vehicles, LEGO sets help to bring these to life in brick form. That’s also why we have decided to stop using the Creator Expert branding and, instead, use the new adult-focused packaging design to make it clearer which hobbies or brand products they can relate to. We hope this will make it easier for fans to track down models they would be proud to display once completed. Of course, our product range will continue to include the same advanced-build, collectible products that guarantee hours of building enjoyment for fans.”

As Anders indicated, this change coincides with the end of the “Creator Expert” branding, which was first seen on packaging for 2013’s #10232 Palace Cinema. (Previous sets in the Creator Expert series have had various recommended ages, from 12+ for #10267 Gingerbread House, 14+ for #10248 Ferrari F40, and 16+ for #10270 Bookshop.) We will have to wait and see how the next set in the Winter Village series is branded, but I suspect it will not be included in this adult-oriented branding program.

One other line in the press release caught my attention: “All new products in the LEGO Group’s ranges that appeal to adults will now feature the sleek, minimalistic new design across related packaging, building instructions, exclusive content and in-store and online store design.”