The Lego Group has compelled an intrepid workforce of builders to close down their impressive-looking Bionicle fan challenge, after eight years’ work.
Bionicle: Masks of Energy was set to have been an open-world motion RPG impressed by Horizon: Zero Daybreak, that includes the fan-favourite masked warriors from Lego’s legendary toy collection.
Successive trailers for the sport had overestimated Bionicle followers for the discharge, and all regarded effective from The Lego Group’s aspect — till, within the final month, one thing seems to have modified.
In a blog post confirming Bionicle: Masks of Energy’s shock cancellation, its builders Crew Kanohi stated that they’d lately been contacted by The Lego Group and advised to close down the challenge “in its entirety” and take away the sport “from the general public eye.”
The builders stated they weren’t given any additional specifics on the choice, however speculated that Bionicle: Masks of Energy had grown to the purpose the place it was now “too simple to mistake for an official product.”
A now-removed Steam web page for the sport was among the many first search outcomes for “Bionicle recreation,” and regardless of disclaimers that it was a fan challenge, its builders admit the entire thing could have been a sufferer of its personal success — and starting to look too reputable.
Certainly, newly-published footage meant as a farewell to the challenge reveals a comparatively polished Unreal Engine-powered expertise, that includes the Bionicle characters in a lush jungle world.
May Lego lastly be getting ready its personal Bionicle recreation now, and never need Masks of Energy as competitors? Or, maybe, would possibly Bionicle be set to seem inside Lego’s deep integration inside Fortnite, the place gamers could make their very own Lego video games and worlds utilizing Unreal Engine?
Regardless of the motive, this appears to be like to be the tip for Bionicle: Masks of Energy, although its improvement workforce has stated it would rebrand and proceed.
“Our plan is to take every thing we have realized by means of creating Masks of Energy and use that information and expertise as the muse of a brand-new, authentic recreation,” the builders stated.
“At present codenamed Project Rustbound, our workforce has already begun brainstorming ideas for a brand new, authentic world that we get the prospect to construct ourselves.”
This may also include a brand new title for Crew Kanohi, because it leaves the masked Bionicle warriors behind. And that new title? Unmasked Video games. After eight years and a few promising progress, we’ll be holding a watch out for what the workforce does subsequent.