You know that there is trouble when a developer actively points out the best time to get out of their contract. We learned earlier this year that Funcom’s license with Lego Minifigures Online ends in October 2016, so there shouldn’t be a surplus of surprise that the title is being sunset at the end of September.
It is with a heavy heart that we announce that LEGO Minifigures Online will be closing on September 30th, 2016. We know that many of you are still enjoying your adventures in the game, and this has been a difficult decision for us to make but unfortunately, the time has come to retire LEGO Minifigures Online.
Lego Minifigures originally launched as a free to play game in 2014. When the title failed to meet expectations, Funcom transformed the game into a buy to play model, effectively locking out anyone who had previously played but not purchased anything. The poor performance of the model was attributed to overestimation of buying power, according to Funcom’s quarterly report from May 2015.
Funcom’s latest quarterly report is out and it looks like Lego Minifigures Online is getting ready to kick the bucket. Launched in 2015, we’ve covered numerous statements from Funcom over the ensuing quarters that the game was not performing up to internal forecasts. Last year, the company even wrote off $2.9 million due to the performance of the online game, making the unprecedented move of taking the title off of its free to play model and converting it over to a buy to play system.
Lego Minifigures Online has been relegated to a lost cause in the latest report, with Funcom stating that there is no hope that the game’s metrics will improve, that it will meet internal expectations, and therefore investment into the game has been adjusted accordingly. Furthermore, the statement specifically mentions that LMO’s license is finished in October.
The Company has during 2015 been unable to improve these numbers. As a result of this the revenues generated by LEGO® Minifigures Online did not meet the internal forecasts. The Company has therefore fully written off the underlying assets of the game. As of the time of this annual report, the Company does not find it likely that any of the game metrics will improve, and has adjusted its investment in the game accordingly. The license agreement with LEGO for the LEGO® Minifigures Online game ends October 2016.
If you’ve yet to buy into Lego Minifigures Online, it is probably in your best interest to keep it that way. While Funcom has not explicitly stated that the service is shutting down, nor have they given a date, the message is quite clear.
Lego Minifigures has gone into open beta. The game is currently available in English on the PC with further localizations and platforms (tablet) coming further down the line. In order to play, you’ll need a Lego account as the game does not go through Funcom’s account system. The open beta aims to tweak game mechanics and the in-game store to the community’s preferences, so get in and have your voice heard.
It’s been a while since we last heard from ROBLOX, but today’s news should come as a pleasant surprise to ex-Lego Universe players. In a press release, ROBLOX has announced a partnership with LEGO to bring the Hero Factory brand to the popular kid’s MMO. Players take the role of Stringer or Volix, two characters from Hero Factory, and compete in teams in a competitive scavenger mode. While searching for the hidden items, players are able to sabotage the other team by destroying the very items they seek.
Winning a game of Hero Factory will nab a few pieces of equipment from their chosen characters. ROBLOX is one of MMO Fallout’s featured family friendly MMOs and can be played free of charge through your browser.
Developing an MMO for kids is a tough endeavor. On one hand, there are commercial failures like Lego Universe and Cartoon Network’s Fusion Fall who were unable to bring in enough paying customers and either shut down or went completely free to play respectively. On the other hand, you have major successes like Wizard 101, Roblox, Clone Wars Adventures, and Free Realms that manage to bring in a great deal of cash each month, one or two of them on forced subscriptions.
Funcom announced in a press email today that the developer is moving full steam ahead with their next MMO, based on the minifigures of Lego. Where Lego Universe was a traditional MMO with building aspects, Funcom’s Lego MMO prides itself on accessibility, and bringing a “broad and enhanced experience.”
Almost nothing is known about Funcom’s Lego MMO. MMO Falloug will continue reporting any new information we find.
Check your Calenders, folks. August 15th brings with it the partial free to play transition for Lego Universe. Starting today, players will be able to download the game for free and access two adventure zones and one player property, as well as a large amount of mini-figure customization options and equipment to acquire. Of course this is all an incentive to get players into the game to eventually upgrade to membership, so consider this not much more than an extended trial with no time limits, similar to World of Warcraft’s.
More on Lego Universe as it appears. You can read the whole news story here. A subscription to Lego Universe costs $10 USD a month.
Lego Universe has been quite the topic for MMO Fallout over the past week or so, and Lego Team hopes to make the game a little more MMO-ish in the coming weeks. One aspect Lego Universe has been missing is player levels, rather players join a faction and level up through the ranks by completing missions and mini-games, obtaining better gear as they obtain ranks and tokens. In the next few weeks, Lego hopes to turn all of that upside down by introducing levels.
In an announcement, players will be able to level to 40, obtaining rewards along the way including buffs, pets, and gear. Rather than forcing players to grind mobs, minifigures will simply need to collect u-score, which most players already do, by completing missions, achievements, and mini-games. That u-score will determine your level.
For players worried about their high level gear, Lego already has that covered. When the update goes live, players will be able to wield anything linked to their character, regardless of level.
Lego Universe will no longer be maintained by NetDevil, as the game and development team have been bought up by Lego Team.
Jumpgate Evolution's future in question.
I love Lego, so I am perpetually looking for a reason to talk about NetDevil’s Lego Universe. It isn’t often that an IP holder takes direct stake in an MMO based off of their property, so the news comes as a surprise that the Lego Team has bought up the development team for Lego Universe, the MMO that launched last year. Lego Universe, for those of you who don’t remember, is a kids MMO that features many of the features of a standard game, but with the added ability to customize the aesthetic look of your creations.
We can speculate for hours as to why Lego Team bought the developers, and whether or not they felt the game’s future was in uncertain hands with NetDevil, but Gazillion’s (owns NetDevil) President David Brevik had this to say:
“The transition of members of our team to the LEGO Group allows us to conclude the work-for-hire segment of NetDevil’s business and lets us expand our internally-published, free-to-play game businesses based on our own properties and licensed properties. Gazillion is wholly focused on developing, operating, and publishing the next generation of browser-delivered games We’re proud of the LEGO Universe game that our team built, and we are certain that it has a bright future.”
My ideas? I think this has to do with the ongoing lawsuit headed by Codemasters against NetDevil over the developer not releasing Jumpgate Evolution in a timely manner. Either NetDevil is having money issues and sold the game and team, or Lego Team is concerned about the long term viability of the company and bought up the game. On the positive side, this means that customers of Lego Universe will keep their beloved game, and with the development team staying on board, this means no sudden major changes in development focus.
NetDevil is a subsidiary of Gazillion Entertainment, and known for the defunct MMO Auto Assault. The company has several MMOs currently in development, including the aforementioned Jumpgate Evolution, Marvel Universe, and Marvel Super Hero Squad Online.
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