(New York) The world leader in toys, Lego, and video game publisher Epic Games launched, on Thursday, LEGO Fortnitea version of the platform with hundreds of millions of players, which should allow both partners to expand their respective audiences.
Free and open access like its predecessor, the game uses many of the visual codes of Fortnitebut with Lego characters, as well as construction materials and tools directly derived from the world of the Danish giant.
It takes place in a universe similar to that of the game launched in 2017, but in a space which represents 19 times the area of the island of Fortnite.
Apart from the Lego aesthetic, the main difference lies in the game mode. Gone is the “Battle Royale”, a format in which you must eliminate the other players and remain the sole survivor to win, on an island which is gradually shrinking.
It has been replaced here by two versions.
One called “survival” in which the player must build and prosper in a world populated by giant wolves and killer skeletons, the other called “sandbox”, without hostile element, which particularly targets the youngest.
LEGO Fortnite is the first major joint achievement of Lego and Epic Games since the announcement, in April 2022, of the Danish group and Sony’s acquisition of a stake in the capital of the Cary (North Carolina) publisher, for two billion dollars.
The developers of LEGO Fortnite made sure that all structures built in the game could be replicated in the real world with Lego pieces.
“We are creating a bridge between the physical and digital worlds, which in some ways has never been done,” says Julia Goldin, marketing director of the toy maker. ” And that’s just the beginning. »
The manager sees this as an opportunity for the group “to invite many more digital players to test the physical world of Lego bricks”.
“This will attract a lot of children, but also teenagers and adults,” anticipates, for his part, Adam Sussman, president of Epic Games.
By many aspects, notably the fact that it is a so-called persistent universe (which continues to exist even when a player leaves it), LEGO Fortnite poses as a competitor of references like Minecraft Or Animal Crossing.
“We think that, for the industry, it’s great to have several successes, not just one,” says Adam Sussman.
“When a genre is very popular, like this, there is room,” he continues. “We want to offer people who love this style an even more innovative version. »