Fans are Furious: LEGO stops Passion Project - After 8 years!
An ambitious project's illustrious history will be brought to a halt: Lego decided to discontinue a Bionicle game. This is a bitter blow for many fans, with reactions ranging from disappointment to outright anger. However, there is also a sliver of hope.
Lego has been one of the big corporate success stories in recent years: From a turnover of around $1 billion dollars in 2003, that figure has risen steeply to an impressive $9.8 billion in 2023. It is indeed a remarkable success in an increasingly digital world. Partly responsible for this are smart investments in other media, such as hugely successful video game series like "Lego Star Wars" (2005) or the launch of its movies (in 2014).
However, not every project made it to the finish line: with one particularly exciting project having been discontinued shortly before the planned demo release. Needless to say, this was done much to the annoyance of many fans. Remarkably, the initiative did not originate from Lego itself.
Bionicle project remains unfinished
The Bionicle brand from Lego enjoys cult status among fans. It was precisely from this community that the Kanohi development team set itself a major goal eight years ago: to create a complete Bionicle video game for the community. This fan-made effort was also designed for fans. Now, however, Lego has unexpectedly halted the ambitious project.
On August 10, 2025, an initial demo of "Bionicle: Masks of Power" was to be released as a surprise shadow drop. However, shortly before the planned release (not to mention after years of work), Lego is touted to have contacted the team and asked them to abandon the project. The developers emphasized they did everything within their power not to risk running into any trouble.
The company's fair play guidelines were rigorously observed and it was made clear on every platform that this was not an official fan project, including notices on the website, in trailers, and on Steam. The team also did not financially benefit from the project. Nevertheless, as the bell tolls, the only option was to discontinue it.
Although Lego had sometimes tolerated similar projects in the past, a different decision was made this time. The toy manufacturer did not give any official reason behind its move. However, Team Kanohi suspects Lego wanted to avoid confusion with official titles.
A new hope
In response, the almost finalized demo was published in full length as a walkthrough on YouTube. The video has since experienced around 77,000 views. The comments speak for themselves, with terms such as "frustrating" and "heartbreaking" being touted. Some even went so far as to claim that Lego stopped the project because the quality was too good. Fan reactions range from being disillusioned to sheer anger and disappointment.
However, the development team did not seem to be discouraged by the setback. Team Kanohi is already working on a new concept for a completely new game, sporting the working title "Rustbound". This time, however, it is an endeavor not as a ragtag fan community, but as an official indie game developer with the moniker "Unmasked Games". This could transform the failed project into one with a promising new beginning.
