Funcom takes another swing at the Lego MMO.
Legos seem the perfect property for an MMO. They’re customizable, can work in any setting, play well with licensed properties, and imbue a childlike sense of play. Well, that’s what Play Well Studios thought with Lego Universe, but that didn’t turn out too well. Secret World developer Funcom thinks it can do better, and has announced Lego Minifigures Online. It will also let you unlock in-game characters by buying legos in real life, which would be utter genius if Skylanders and Disney Infinity didn’t do it first.
Lego Minifigures Online will let players explore places like Pirate World, Space World, and Medieval World. As they wander, they’ll collect minifigures and level-up their characters. Unlike Lego Universe, Minifigures Online will be F2P from the start. Predictably, Funcom is aiming it towards a younger audience, so don’t expect a full-fledged PvP MMO with competitive raiding.
Now that Skylanders showed the world that combining a video game with collectible toys is a mad scientist formula for printing money, someone finally realized that Legos are a prime target for this strategy. To that end, Lego Minifigures Online will be tied into the Minifigures toy line, so each new lego figure will come with a code that will allow you to play with them in the game.
Powered by Funcom’s DreamWorld platform, Lego Minifigures Online will be a full-featured PC game with DirectX 11 support. Just in case any kids out there don’t happen to have an overclocked gaming rig, they can also play right in a web browser, or on an iOS or Android tablet.
Lego Minifigures Online will launch on PC, iOS, and Android devices in the second half of 2014.
