by Stacy Jones on Nov 04, 2011
Sad news begins November for LEGO fans. The LEGO Group today announced that LEGO Universe will shut down on January 31st, 2012. According to the press release, player feedback has been very positive, but since the game went free-to-play in August, there has been a problem with getting enough players to convert to subscriptions and given that the game doesn't support microtransactions, you can see the problem.
As part of the closure, Play Well Studios will be shut down and the LEGO Universe marketing staff will no longer be needed. This will affect 115 employees, which may find work with the LEGO Group or end up out of a job.
As always, our best wishes go out to those that might be affected.
A Closing FAQ is available on the LEGO forums with additional information and subscription reimbursement details.
Online game will close on January 31, 2012. The LEGO Groups digital offerings will continue to develop over the coming years.
November 4, 2011 The LEGO Group today announced that it will close LEGO® Universe, an MMOG (massively-multiplayer online game) that has been in operation since the autumn of 2010.
In spite of very positive player feedback and a large number of players in the free play zone, it has not been possible to convert a satisfactory number of players to paying subscribers. It has therefore been decided to close the game as of January 31, 2012.
The LEGO Universe team can take pride in having developed and launched a great LEGO experience that many players will miss, said 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.
Despite the change, the ambition to develop and run a digital business remains. In future, it is the intention to further pursue cooperation with partners. The LEGO Group has a strong and continuing partnership with TT Games & Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment to create digital LEGO experiences within video games. A further expansion in the digital area will mainly be based on similar partnerships.
The development of our digital offerings continues to be a very important element in our strategy, said 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 childrens 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.
As a consequence of the closure, the LEGO Universe staff has today been informed that the Play Well Studios in Louisville, Colorado and the games marketing function in Billund, Denmark will be closed. This will affect 115 employees. All affected employees will be offered assistance in finding new jobs inside or outside the LEGO Group.