Ten Ton Hammer - Taking MMO Gamers to the Next Level!

LEGO Universe

October 2010 - January 2012

Ancient Mayan Prophecy: "The crops will wither without a cash shop to feed them."

Not all F2P conversions can pull a dying game out of a tailspin - especially when that conversion doesn't include some form of microtransactions. LEGO Universe's Free-to-play conversion basically gave players two options: pay 10 bucks a month, or stick with the pared-down, gimpy, barely-fun game that can only be improved by subscribing.

This gambit proved unsuccessful. Free-to-play launched mid-August 2011, but failed to convert enough new players into new subscribers, and the game shut down in January 2012. A cash shop would possibly have extended the life of the game - it's not hard to envision players being willing to pay a little extra for special bricks, unique colours or whatnot - but since they also closed the studio and marketing department at the same time, it's unlikely that such an extension would have been particularly long-term.