WB Games studio TT Games has been in charge of licensed LEGO games for nearly two decades at this point, and from licensed properties like Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings, and Marvel to original games, the studio has put out a great number of games based on the license- and has done so exclusively.
That, however, will be changing soon- that’s according to a report published by VGC, which claims that 2K Games has signed into a partnership with LEGO that will see them developing “a range” of sports titles. As per the report, LEGO is choosing to end its exclusive agreement with WB Games, in part due to the decreasing sales of TT Games’ titles, while recent reports of poor working conditions at the studio have also “disappointed” key figures at LEGO. The company also wants to expand its presence in the video games space with a broader range of titles, while 2K is keen on expanding its presence in the sports genre.
The report goes on to say that TT Games has one more LEGO game in development beyond the upcoming LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, though whether or not it will continue to work with the license beyond that is currently unknown.
As for 2K’s LEGO-licensed games, three of them are already in the works, the report claims. One is a football/soccer games that’s being made by Sumo Digital, the studio behind 2020’s Sackboy: A Big Adventure. Sumo Digital was acquired by Tencent for $1.27 billion in July last year, and is currently also aiding with the development of the upcoming Hogwarts Legacy.
An open world racing game based on the LEGO license is also allegedly in development, with Visual Concepts – the studio in charge of the NBA 2K and WWE 2K franchises – leading the charge on that project. According to VGC, this is the project that has been mentioned in recent job listings as a major AAA open world racer based on a major license.
Sumo Digital’s football game is supposedly due out later this year, to coincide with the FIFA World Cup in December, with Visual Concepts’ racing title scheduled for 2023. According to VGC’s report, a third LEGO sports game is also in the works at 2K, and is apparently based on “a major sports franchise”. Interestingly, these sports titles could also feature guest characters from crossover licenses like Harry Potter, Marvel, and DC.
