Ever since the release of LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game back in 2005, the LEGO brand has seen massive success in the video game space. For years, Traveller's Tales has been taking its tried-and-true formula to all sorts of different IPs. Superhero fans have gotten to spend hours in the likes of LEGO Marvel Super Heroes and LEGO Batman, fantasy fans have jumped into the likes of LEGO Harry Potter and LEGO The Lord of the Rings, and those looking for an adventure have had LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean or LEGO Indiana Jones. Whatever players wanted, LEGO seemed to offer it in droves. But that seems to be changing now.
After the release of LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga in 2022, there were reports of extensive crunch within Traveller's Tales, which caused LEGO to end its exclusive contract with the studio. Since then, there have been multiple non-Traveller's Tales LEGO games released. And now, it has been reported that LEGO itself is also building its own in-house studio to develop even more LEGO games going forward. While it remains to be seen just what that entails, these titles may already be facing an incredibly steep uphill battle with fans.
How LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game Defined 20 Years of LEGO Games
For 20 years, TT Games' LEGO titles have forever shaped the gaming medium, starting with the breakout hit LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game
LEGO's New Approach to Video Games Changes Things Drastically
LEGO Has Seemingly Struggled to Impress Outside of Traveller's Tales
After LEGO opened up its brand to more studios, the industry quickly got to work developing new titles for players to sink their teeth into. One of the first came in the form of LEGO 2K Drive, which took the LEGO brand to the racing scene for a new type of adventure. While it did offer some fun, the overall experience left much to be desired. Many felt like its live-service elements held it back, and it paled in comparison to what Traveller's Tales had been doing for years.
The next standalone LEGO game to release was LEGO Horizon Adventures, which put a LEGO spin on the Horizon Zero Dawn franchise. This title also offered players a fun new take on one of Sony's flagship series, but it too paled in comparison to what had come before. The level design just proved lackluster, and the gameplay left much to be desired. While fans of the series may enjoy it, it does not do enough to pull other players into its world.
LEGO's New Studio May Have a Hard Time Impressing Fans
The only major success since Traveller's Tales lost the exclusive license seems to be Epic Games' LEGO Fortnite, which is simply a collection of LEGO-based adventures within Fortnite. Outside of that, the non-Traveller's Tales LEGO titles just seem to be struggling. Neither of the games has really excited the fanbase, and because of that, they have been given little reason to believe this new direction is the best for the brand. Instead, some are just waiting to see whatever Traveller's Tales is working on next. But it seems like LEGO itself is planning to take this new direction to new levels.
It was recently revealed that LEGO is establishing its very own in-house studio to handle future game development. It remains to be seen just what that will look like, but based on recent titles, these new adventures may also struggle to make an impact. Players have gotten so used to Traveller's Tales leading the charge that these other games may not be what they are looking for. On top of that, due to long development times, it will likely be a little while before players even get to see what LEGO is developing. And if these next few LEGO games do not improve in quality, then there is a chance that players will have just moved on by then.
Of course, there is no way of knowing just what the future of LEGO entails. There is a chance that this new studio is exactly what the brand needed, and through it, players are going to be treated to a wide assortment of exciting new experiences. There is also a chance that players will simply wait for Traveller's Tales' next title and ignore all the others, but only time will tell.
