As 2023 comes to an end, Lego and Epic Games finally unveiled what their kid-friendly metaverse will look like.
A full 18 months in the making, the branded Lego edition of Fortnite is being described as a multiplayer “survival crafting game.” It will be released Dec. 7, intended as a fun and safe digital space for children and their families. The game will be available on all video game devices where people can play Fortnite.
The collaboration pushes the Danish brick maker further into the digital realm, just months after it launched online loyalty program Lego Insiders in August.
Fortnite counts more than 400 million registered users and around 80 million active players each month, showing the sheer scale of audience Lego could potentially reach through Lego Fortnite.
Lego has spent the past 18 months building audience loyalty via digital programs. It’s also been carving out a more meaningful role in peoples’ lives, positioning itself as more than a toy brand and promoting play that helps children develop life skills, but improves mental well-being, too.
It’s a strategy that’s working. According to Interbrand’s recent Best Global Brand research for 2024, Lego is No. 59 on the list of top 100 global brands, with a 10% growth in brand value year-on-year, reaching $13.069 billion.
“Businesses that have witnessed a rise in brand value—including Airbnb, Lego and Nike—have all transcended their established category norms to play a more significant and meaningful role in society and consumer’s lives,” explained Gonzalo Brujó, global CEO of Interbrand.
The development of Lego Fortnite has been in the cards since 2022, with Lego Group first investing $1 billion (alongside Sony) into Epic Games to develop a Web3 space for children last April.
Speaking about the partnership earlier this year, when she was named Adweek’s Brand Genius Lifetime Award honoree, Lego chief product and marketing officer Julia Goldin said, “There’s a new internet coming because of technological innovations that will generate a lot more capabilities, tools and opportunities for people to experience things in very different ways from how they’re experiencing them today. We want children to benefit from that.”
hey, it’s the Sphere from Fortnite!!@spherevegas pic.twitter.com/2rMQAS0uAH
— Fortnite (@FortniteGame) December 3, 2023
To promote the announcement, Lego and Epic Games have featured the impending release on Las Vegas LED activation Sphere, creating a spectacle designed to drive word of mouth and social sharing.
An online gaming experience evolving kids’ online safety
Of the partnership, Niels B. Christiansen, CEO of The Lego Group, said his company wants to help kids play across digital and physical worlds where they can develop lifelong skills such as creativity, collaboration and communication by interacting through these experiences.
“We have a responsibility to make them safe, inspiring and beneficial for all. Just as we’ve protected children’s rights to safe physical play for generations, we are committed to doing the same for digital play,” he added.
The two companies also revealed three principles that they would work toward:
- Protect children’s right to play by making safety and wellbeing a priority.
- Safeguard children’s privacy by putting their best interests first.
- Empower children and adults with tools that give them control over their digital experience.
Although just days away from the game’s launch, very little is known about what to expect from the intellectual property beyond the fact that it will allow people to explore open worlds that combine the building experience and gameplay for both Lego and Fortnite fans.
Lego wants to be seen as a business that takes its role in developing safe environments for children seriously. It recently co-funded UNICEF’s Responsible Innovation in Technology for Children initiative to ensure kids’ well-being is central to digital design across platforms.
We have an opportunity, as we begin to see the emergence of the metaverse, to build and think about all of the areas that really haven’t been fixed.
Dylan Collins, founder of SuperAwesome
Lego Fortnite has been rated E10+, meaning that it’s geared towards kids aged 10 and over. Other gaming titles in this category can contain language or violence that might be inappropriate for younger players.
Some guardrails will be provided through one-off sign in platform ParentGraph, a product developed by Epic’s ad arm, SuperAwesome, which has over 11.3 million registrants. The tools let parents opt into a network of verified guardians without having to constantly provide verification details each time a child in their household wishes to join one of the brand’s online games.
Once the parent has joined, they can manage permissions for their child to access online experiences.
Dress for adventure with new LEGO Styles of your favorite Fortnite outfits!
Check them out in your Fortnite in-game Locker and the Item Shop now. Learn more: https://t.co/gMabemu810 pic.twitter.com/Cz97s2vJWD
— LEGO (@LEGO_Group) December 3, 2023
“The future of the internet needs to consider young audiences,” said SuperAwesome’s founder, Dylan Collins, speaking to Adweek in November 2022. “We have an opportunity, as we begin to see the emergence of the metaverse, to build and think about all of the areas that really haven’t been fixed and haven’t been addressed in the internet to date.”
Anticipating Lego’s future
Zoe Scaman, founder of strategy studio Bodacious, said the exciting unveiling of Lego Fortnite was both “unique and expected.”
“[Lego’s] partnership with Epic was never going to enter into Fortnite proper, as it would never have ticked those positive play boxes,” she said. “Instead, [the pair] had to create something separate to embed and test out new guidelines and hypotheses around what positive play could look like in a virtual gaming arena.”
She added: “[Lego] has also pushed Epic to introduce age-gating far faster than it potentially would have without the [the brand’s] partnership and investment.”
Anticipation is mounting for the launch. Lego Fortnite’s official X (formerly Twitter) account already gained 145,000 followers just days since it was launched. It is also set to have official accounts on TikTok, YouTube, Facebook and Instagram.
Ahead of its debut, Lego is encouraging fans to sign up for its Insiders program to receive a special new style for Fortnite character Explorer Emilie, who has been adapted from the main game. Epic Games account holders will also be able to link this to their Lego account.
“While this first collab is a big move, we can bet that it won’t be their last, especially after the Lego family participated in Epic’s recent giant funding round via its investment company, Kirkbi, to the tune of a rumored $1 billion. So only time will tell just how ambitious and game-changing (pun intended) this could be,” said Scaman.
