The LEGO Group have announced that the highly anticipated casual MMO based on the LEGO universe (aptly named, LEGO Universe), will now not be released until at least 2010 and possibly 2011.
Despite this setback, the LEGO Group has insisted that the game’s developer, NetDevil, is committed to the title, and that the delay is a business-oriented strategy to prevent LEGO Universe from taking the focus away from other projects. Though they are not mentioned by name, the unknown projects are not related to other LEGO computer games, as Business Development Director Mark Hansen openly states:
“The reason is, we have a luxury right now; the business is going good. We have products launching that are not digital, the physical products, with them going so well we don’t want to take focus away from them”.
Hansen would not commit to a release date, nor would he confirm that the title was due for a 2009 or 2010 launch. He did, however, state:
“LEGO Universe is something LEGO is very committed to. The NetDevil relationship is very, very strong. We are holding exactly to the plan we had when we started game development. NetDevil might now even create more content and alignment with the products we have on the shelf.”
As well as LEGO Universe, NetDevil also currently has another high profile title in development, a revamp of their acclaimed Jumpgate IP, Jumpgate: Evolution. It was not mentioned whether the imminent launch of this title’s beta phase was affecting development of LEGO Universe.