Package refresh

 

Left: Kingdom Core Class Autobot Hot Rod
Right: Legacy Core Class Autobot Hot Rod

"Package refresh", also known as "packaging refresh" (or "PR" for short), is the current Hasbro design team terminology for a toy that has been re-released from a previous toyline in new packaging. Distinct from what TFWiki.net knows as rebranding, toys that have undergone a package refresh often feature minor or major variations compared to their previous releases, similar to what we call a running change.

Package refreshes can be used to grant less common toys more shelf time, to extend a line without the need for designing new product, or to keep popular or desirable characters in rotation. The term was used in a Hasbro Pulse livestream advertising Transformers: Legacy to emphasise that line's cross-compatibility with the previous War for Cybertron Trilogy series of toys.

List of package refreshes

Refreshed toy	Original toy	Variation
Earthrise Battle Master Smashdown	Siege Battle Master Smashdown
Earthrise Battle Master Rung	Siege Battle Master Rung	Features a slightly lighter orange hue on the unpaintable polyamide plastic.
Earthrise Micromasters Direct-Hit & Power Punch	Siege Micromasters Direct-Hit & Power Punch
Earthrise Leader Class Astrotrain	Siege Leader Class Astrotrain
Kingdom Deluxe Class Arcee	Earthrise Deluxe Class Arcee
Kingdom Deluxe Class Wheeljack	Earthrise Deluxe Class Wheeljack
Kingdom Voyager Class Starscream (cancelled)	Earthrise Voyager Class Starscream	Presumably cancelled to avoid redundancy with the concurrent Studio Series Leader Class Coronation Starscream.
Kingdom Leader Class Optimus Prime	Earthrise Leader Class Optimus Prime	Prime's ion blaster is painted in a very slightly lighter shade of gunmetal grey.
Buzzworthy Bumblebee Deluxe Class 15BB Bumblebee (w/ Charlie)	Studio Series Deluxe Class 15 Bumblebee (w/ Charlie)	Bumblebee features both deco and tooling variations. See his toy entry for more information.
Buzzworthy Bumblebee Deluxe Class 26BB WWII Bumblebee	Studio Series Deluxe Class 26BB WWII Bumblebee	Additional dirt splash paint operation in vehicle mode.
Buzzworthy Bumblebee Deluxe Class 40BB Shatter	Studio Series Deluxe Class 40 Shatter
Buzzworthy Bumblebee Deluxe Class 74BB Bumblebee (w/ Sam)	Studio Series Deluxe Class 74 Bumblebee (w/ Sam Witwicky)	No deco variations, though through happenstance, the package refresh happened to be released before the original toy.
Buzzworthy Bumblebee Deluxe Class 70BB B-127	Studio Series Deluxe Class 70 B-127	Deco colour and paint operation differences, as well as an alternate head sculpt.
Buzzworthy Bumblebee Deluxe Class 86-02BB Kup	Studio Series Deluxe Class 86-02 Kup	Everything about Kup's deco has been altered, including replacing his transclucent plastic with opaque. Kup stretches the definition of a package refresh versus a redeco, but is listed here due to sharing the same ID number.
Legacy Core Class Autobot Hot Rod	Kingdom Core Class Autobot Hot Rod
Legacy Core Class Optimus Prime	Kingdom Core Class Optimus Prime
Legacy Voyager Class Autobot Blaster & Eject	Kingdom Voyager Class Autobot Blaster & Eject
Legacy Voyager Class Soundwave	Siege Voyager Class Soundwave	Removal of battle damage paint operations.
Legacy Leader Class Galvatron	Kingdom Leader Class Galvatron	Removal of battle damage paint operations.

Notes

• Package refreshes have an unfortunate habit of showing up as "Pr" on retailer toy listings; this caused quite some confusion when leaked word of a Legacy "Soundwave Pr" led fans to expect a new toy of Prime Soundwave.