2K reportedly lands licence to create multiple Lego sports games

Publisher 2K has reportedly secured the licence for a series of Lego sports games.

This comes from a VGC report, where people with knowledge of the plans said that The Lego Group is looking to increase its video game output once an exclusivity deal with Warner Bros. expires. The company’s Lego games have typically been handled by TT Games.

2K has apparently signed a multi-game partnership with the toy company for a Lego sports line of titles that will start with a football (soccer) game developed by Sumo Digital, the studio known for Sackboy: A Big Adventure which is also helping with the development of Hogwarts Legacy.

The next game will reportedly be an open-world Lego driving game developed by Visual Concepts. This is the same game reported on earlier in the month that stated a “major licence” was involved with development.

The football title will reportedly release later this year to coincide with the World Cup, with the racing game to follow in 2023. A third Lego sports title is also in development, according to VGC sources.

A Lego spokesperson added: “We do not comment on speculation about future products or partnerships.”

Ahead of Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, TT Games apparently has one other title in development, but sources claim this will be released after the exclusivity deal ends. TT Games may work on Lego titles after this, but will not hold exclusive rights.

According to a Polygon report from last month, the development of the newest Star Wars game at TT Games led to extensive crunch at the studio.

One anonymous former employee described the pressure to crunch as “very soft-spoken blackmail. If people don’t start doing overtime, there’s going to be problems.”

In other news, Bethesda is retiring its own game launcher in favour of moving over to Steam, where game saves, in-game currency and game ownership for players will transfer to in the coming months.