Minecraft is easily one of the biggest games out there, with millions of players partaking in its blocky world on a daily basis and over 100 million copies downloaded. It’s become the most popular title for videos on YouTube, and Microsoft was so confident in the franchise, it purchased MInecraft developer Mojang for a whopping $2.5 billion.
But what does this mean for the competition Well, with the right boost, it could find an equal, if not greater, success, depending on the concept – and considering how much people like building with Legos, it seems like a proper fit for a Minecraft wannabe.
Per VentureBeat, WB Games has announced that it has launched Lego Worlds, a wide-open building adventure where players can create structures, worlds and characters using various Lego pieces. The game just made its debut on Steam Early Access, and is available for players to try for $14.99.
Like Minecraft, Lego Worlds enables users to use their imagination to put things together, using many building blocks from various Lego properties as well as the ability to create your own custom character and select from various accessories. In addition, the developers at TT Games are looking to add even more features to the final game, including the ability to play with friends in multiplayer, and the creation of randomly generated underground cave networks.
However, Lego Worlds is unique in its approach. Instead of focusing on battles with Creepers in Minecraft, the idea is based upon creating incredible worlds to explore. It’s like taking a virtual Lego stash and building something for all to see – very similar to the real toys themselves. However, that’s not to say that enemies won’t be included, as Skeletons and other random foes may show up.
Said TT Games about the release, “The current plan for Lego Worlds is to be in Early Access through 2015, at which point we hope to have our full list of features in place. We’ll evaluate a release candidate in early 2016, but we won’t consider the game complete and ready for release until we believe our community feels we have delivered a great game.”
WB Games has been betting quite a bit on Lego franchises as of late, with Lego Jurassic World {link no longer active}, based on the film series of the same name, debuting later this month, not to mention the interactive toy/game series Lego Dimensions making its way to stores later this year, featuring a number of popular franchises like Batman, Back To the Future and The Simpsons, among others.
Whether Lego Worlds will be a success in the long run has yet to be seen, but if anyone can literally build its franchise to greatness, it’s TT Games and WB Games.
The trailer for Lego Worlds can be found below.