The MMOG Lego Universe that unleashed its magic onto the gaming world back in the autumn last year is slated to close on January 31, 2012, as revealed by the Lego Group. The company further said that the offering failed to convert enough free players to paying subscribers despite the positive feedback as well as enormous player response in the free play zone.
“The Lego Universe team can take pride in having developed and launched a great Lego experience that many players will miss,” commented Jesper Vilstrup, Vice President, Lego Universe. “Right now, we have almost 2 million players in Lego Universe, and we get extremely positive feedback from players. Unfortunately, we have not been able to build a satisfactory revenue model in our target group, and therefore, have decided to close the game.”
“The development of our digital offerings continues to be a very important element in our strategy,” revealed Mads Nipper, Executive Vice President, Lego Group. “We have more than 20 million visitors on www.lego.com every month, and Lego video games are among the bestselling children’s video games with sales of more than 60 million units in the last five years. Through our experience developing and running Lego Universe, we have gained a lot of valuable insights, and we have a very strong foundation for future development in the digital area.”
In light of the Lego Universe recent announcements, the company is still determined to fashion and run a digital business as well as work in co-ordination with more partners in the future. The Lego experience in games can still be acquired with the continuing partnership of companies like Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and TT Games. Similar partnerships will also be observed in the future expansion of digital space.
With Lego Universe closing down next year, the title’s marketing function in Billund, Denmark along with the ‘Play Well Studios’ in Louisville, Colorado will be shut as well. The MMOG game that initiated and generated quite a buzz at its inception in fall 2010, will end on January 31, 2012.