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LEGO has been present in dozens of video games, but most have been developed by third parties. That could change soon. His CEO, Niels Christiansen, has revealed in an interview with Financial Times that the company is betting again on a team of internal developmentan interesting movement in its strategy. The idea seems clear: having more control over your products. To understand the importance of this step, it is enough to review the history of Lego and how its relationship with the digital world has evolved.
Founded in Denmark in 1932Lego began to manufacture plastic bricks in 1949. Over time, he expanded his catalog and consolidated himself as one of the most influential toy brands in the world, although without paying attention to the digital world. However, at the beginning of the 1990s, when computer science began to collect more strength than ever, a group of enthusiasts led by the artist Dent-de-lion du Midi (also known as dandi) thought it was the moment that LEGO would make the leap from the physical world to the films and, eventually, that of video games.
Lego in the world of video games
To convince the company was not an easy task. Dandi and his team worked for more than a year in the creation of a digital library that recreated Lego bricks in a virtual environment, an idea that was revolutionary at that time. But when they finally presented the project, The answer was a blunt not. Despite the rejection, the team did not give up. Instead of leaving the initiative, they decided to bring their proposal directly to Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, CEO of the company and grandson of the founder. The bet went well. Kristiansen was impressed enough to assign a budget for an in -depth study on the digitalization of Lego products.
That study would end up paying fruits. With an initial investment of 11.5 million dollars (about 27 million adjusted to inflation), the “was born”Darwin Project“, an initiative that gave rise to four divisions, one of them dedicated to video games. From here, ‘Lego Island’ in 1997, the first video game for the company’s PC was helped. However, the initial enthusiasm did not take long to be eclipsed by the financial reality of the company. In the early 2000s, in full economic crisis, Lego decided to sell its division of video games as part of a strategy of a strategy Restructuring to avoid bankruptcy, thus delegating the development of their titles in external studies.
Today, the situation is radically different. LEGO has not only avoided bankrupt Billing of 10,100 million dollars in 202413% more than the previous year. With its business more solid than ever, the company has decided to recover control over its digital strategy. “We can cover experiences for children of all ages, digital or physical,” says Christiansen. For that purpose, an internal game development division “It is something we are building”
The bet is firm. LEGO has invested hundreds of millions of dollars to triple its template of software engineers since 2022 and in reinforcing its digital infrastructure. What remains to be seen is whether this new approach will mean a distancing from external studies with which he has worked for years. Give up developments like ‘Lego Star Wars‘ either ‘Indian Lego Jones‘, which have been key in their success in the video game industry, would be a risky play. Meanwhile, ‘LEGO Fortnite‘He has shown that the brand still has a huge pull, with 87 million players to his credit.
The big question is: will this movement mark the beginning of a new era for LEGO video games, or will it simply be another piece in its global strategy? Time will say if the Danish company is willing to Build your own brick road to brick Or if, as until now, he continues to trust his external partners to shape his digital universe.
Images | LEGO
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