The LEGO Group has ordered that the fan game Bionicle: Masks of Power be shut down, much to the disappointment of those looking forward to playing it someday. LEGO’s Bionicle line was introduced in 2001 and featured buildable action figures and a surprisingly deep storyline of mystical heroes and ancient dark forces. It quickly became one of LEGO’s most successful and beloved non-licensed product lines, complete with a DC-published comic series, four animated movies, and games of varying quality.
Bionicle would ultimately be discontinued in 2010 and, aside from a short-lived reboot in the mid-2010s and a few references here and there, has been relatively quiet since. Enter Team Kanohi, a group of Bionicle fans who set out to make their own Bionicle video game independent from The LEGO Group titled Bionicle: Masks of Power. Announced back in 2021, Masks of Power would draw influence from recent open-world titles like Horizon: Zero Dawn to retell the story of the original Toa Mata and their battle against the evil Makuta on the island of Mata Nui.
Unfortunately, it seems like Bionicle: Masks of Power is being discontinued after eight years of development. In a message shared by Ganrokh on Reddit, Team Kanohi has announced that the LEGO Group has asked it to shut down the development of Bionicle: Masks of Power for reasons unknown at this time. This news took Team Kanohi by surprise, as the developer had taken great care not to profit from the game in any way and to make clear that it is not affiliated with LEGO. While Bionicle: Masks of Power is being shut down, Team Kanohi did release a walkthrough of the demo that would have launched on August 10.
Bionicle: Masks of Power Fan Game is Being Shut Down
In the past, LEGO has maintained good relations with fan-made video game projects and has even endorsed the similar Bionicle: Quest for Mata Nui on its podcasts. As noted by Team Kanohi, LEGO’s stance on fan-created media seems to have changed, and Bionicle: Masks of Power could have been shut down out of fear that it could be mistaken for an official LEGO game.
Judging from what has been shown, Bionicle: Masks of Power looked incredibly polished, with Team Kanohi stating that its demo was in its finishing stages by the time The LEGO Group requested the project be shut down. With one less fan project seeing the light of day, the future of Bionicle remains in question, even as gamers look back fondly at the figure line that helped revitalize LEGO back in the 2000s.
- Released
- September 1, 2003
- ESRB
- e
- Engine
- unity
WHERE TO PLAY
LIVE THE LEGEND
• Be the heroic Toa and become the Toa of Light
• Explore the Island of Mata Nui
• Battle the forces of evil
• Use your awesome elemental powers
• Ride, glide, and surf through your adventure
- Genre(s)
- Platformer, Action-Adventure, Shooter
- Platform(s)
- Microsoft Windows, PC, Nintendo Game Boy Advance, GameCube, macOS, Xbox (Original)
- How Long To Beat
- 10 hours
