Well, it appears that Lego x Epic Games is now officially a pairing. Business-wise, that is. Because as it turns out, Lego video games are apparently quite profitable.
Lego x Epic Games: A Match Made With Bricks?
Epic Games has just announces that they’ve entered into a “long-term partnership” with The Lego Group. Apparently, the purpose of this partnership is to “shape the future of the metaverse to make it safe and fun for children and families”. It seems that the 2 companies plan to “build an immersive, creatively inspiring and engaging digital experience for kids of all ages to enjoy together”. This still-unnamed “family-friendly digital experience” will “give kids access to tools that will empower them to become confident creators and deliver amazing play opportunities in a safe and positive space”.
“Kids enjoy playing in digital and physical worlds and move seamlessly between the two. We believe there is huge potential for them to develop life-long skills such as creativity, collaboration and communication through digital experiences. But we have a responsibility to make them safe, inspiring and beneficial for all. Just as we’ve protected children’s rights to safe physical play for generations, we are committed to doing the same for digital play. We look forward to working with Epic Games to shape this exciting and playful future.”
Niels B Christiansen, CEO of The LEGO Group
Unfortunately, neither The Lego Group nor Epic Games offer anything specific about this “digital experience” they’re working on. No release date, no gameplay details, and not even a title. Apparently, that’s something we’ll have to wait for either company to release at a later date. Tune in later to find out what those details are.
Lego “Family-Friendly Digital Experience”: Speculation
Since The Lego Group and Epic Games aren’t releasing any solid details of their “family-friendly digital experience”, all we can do is speculate based off of the details they’ve given us. It seems like this “digital experience” will be some kind of Lego multiplayer building game, based off their details. The target audience will be children, but since families are somehow part of this, then it’s probably going to be more all-ages than being only for kids under 12. There’s a bit about how 1 of the 3 principles this game will adhere to being to “[e]mpower children and adults with tools that give them control over their digital experience”. Based on that, it definitely seems like parental controls will be a thing for this game.
Another principle this Lego game will adhere to is to “[p]rotect children’s right to play by making safety and wellbeing a priority”. I assume (and hope) that means this game will not feature microtransactions. Or indeed, any form of predatory monetization tactics. I can only imagine the outcry from parents if that’s the case. Thus, at the very least, we should not be seeing EA or Wargaming levels of greediness here. That would already get my attention, even leaving aside my nostalgia for Lego games in general. If this is a family game as well, perhaps this will be fun enough for adults to enjoy as well? I hope that’s the case here.
Source: Epic Games
