Produced by Full Moon Features, the series was established in 1989 with the eponymous first installment, which has since been followed by five sequels, five prequels, a crossover with the characters of Demonic Toys, a 2018 reboot entitled The Littlest Reich, a spin-off film about the puppet Blade, a spin-off film about Retro Puppet Master's Doktor Death, two comic book mini-series, an ongoing comic book series, and a free-to-play multiplayer video game by October Games.

Following the closure of his previous business venture, Empire Pictures, Charles Band relocated to the United States and founded Full Moon Productions.

After partnering with Paramount Pictures and Pioneer Home Entertainment, Full Moon began production on its first feature film, Puppet Master.

Due to demand from video retailers and fans for a new installment, four years after retirement, the franchise was revived by the production of a sixth entry, Curse of the Puppet Master, in 1998.

By this time, Paramount had ended its deal with Full Moon, so the film used a combination of rod and string puppets, as well as archival footage to conserve costs.

This idea was abandoned because the distributor, the Kushner Locke Company, thought it would offend the German audience, although it later formed the basis for the ninth installment of the series, Puppet Master: Axis of Evil.

The same year, a crossover film featuring the animated playthings of Full Moon's Puppet Master and Demonic Toys series aired on Sci-Fi Channel, although it was said it did not take place in the same continuity as either of those franchises.

[2] In 2005, Band alluded to a possible television series titled Puppet Wars (see left for promotional artwork) and expressed interest in seeing a video game adaptation of the franchise developed.

[4] In March 2009, it was reported that Band is also interested in remaking 1989's Puppet Master in 3-D.[5] Similarly, the original film was reissued by Razor Digital in 2007 in DualDisc format, featuring both standard and stereoscopic versions.

In June 2009, the Full Moon website posted updates about the latest installment, revealing the roster of puppets to be included, as well as principal cast members Levi Fiehler and Jerry Hoffman.

In 2012, Full Moon released the tenth installment, entitled Puppet Master X: Axis Rising, which continued the story and events from the previous film.

For the first time in the series, Puppet Master: Axis Termination debuted digitally on Full Moon's Amazon channel in three parts beginning on September 15, 2017.

In Baby Oopsie, exclusive gameplay was shown on a television screen whilst the end credits reveal the game had been officially licensed by Full Moon and was in active development.