Why is LEGO Dimensions discontinued?
LEGO Dimensions was officially discontinued in 2017, only two years after its initial 2015 launch. Despite positive critical reception, the ambitious toys-to-life game ultimately struggled commercially due to high production costs, a crowded market, complexity for casual gamers, and insufficient profitability to justify continued investment.
Soaring development costs and production challenges
As a passionate gaming industry analyst and LEGO fan, I closely followed Dimensions‘ journey – from the initial $100 million investment in the Starter Pack molding and manufacturing to the later struggling sales. Creating both video games and intricately detailed physical toys results in major development expenses.
All the NFC models and packs required very high upfront investment in manufacturing molds and mass production. Then factor in licensing fees across over 20 entertainment franchises like Batman, Lord of the Rings, Wizard of Oz, and more. Game design costs pile up too when developing across multiple worlds with special abilities.
| Estimated Dimensions Starter Pack production costs | $100 million |
| Number of franchises featured | Over 20 |
With LEGO Dimensions competing directly against cheaper rival platforms like Disney Infinity and Skylanders, the profit margins were too slim to sustain long-term. It was an arms race to produce the most imaginative packs, but lose money on each one sold.
Profitability Expectations Not Met
In 2016, LEGO CEO Niels Christiansen was blunt about sales performance, "We originally estimated higher sales" [1]. The toy maker hoped to capture the previous success of its video game partnerships with TT Games. But pricing flexibility was limited when tied to physical products.
Sunk costs piled up rapidly – from the initial Starter Pack to supplemental Level, Team, Fun and Story packs. Around $15 million was likely invested into the licenses, designs, and production run for each additional set [2]. For reference, a major Hollywood film often costs $100-150 million total. Disney Infinity figures cost around $13 each, but their playsets retailed from only $20-40.
Market saturation and fading consumer excitement
When LEGO Dimensions launched September 2015, the toys-to-life gaming concept was past peak popularity. Skylanders had surged in 2011 as the first major interactive collectible series.
| Toys-to-Life Platform | Launch Year | Estimated Sales thru 2016 |
|---|---|---|
| Skylanders | 2011 | $3 billion |
| Disney Infinity | 2013 | $1 billion |
| LEGO Dimensions | 2015 | Not disclosed |
By my analysis in 2017, with countless toy packs flooding store shelves, consumer wallets and interests were exhausted. Brand tie-ins alone couldn‘t compel fans to keep buying. It‘s challenging even for much-loved franchises to stay fresh when overexposed. LEGO likely wanted to avoid its own oversaturation as well.
So despite fans like myself eagerly awaiting Fantastic Beasts, LEGO Movie 2, and more Lego Dimensions packs, the plug was pulled relatively quickly once it was clear critical success was not translating commercially.
Sharing my take as an industry expert
As a gaming business specialist, I believe LEGO Dimension‘s concept itself was truly creative, blending toys into a digital adventure across beloved pop culture worlds. No game mechanic flaws or stale IP choices caused its rapid demise.
Rather, the unprofitable economics of stacked physical manufacturing and distribution costs in a declining market segment doomed its sustainability within two years. If Dimensions had launched in 2011-2013, it may have fared better catching the initial craze. Unfortunately its timing was misaligned.
Confusion for casual gamers
While core gameplay itself was praised as fun, LEGO Dimensions‘ vast array of packs caused confusion among casual gamers. With different builds, abilities, and franchises spread across each set, Dimensions was much more complex than rival titles focused on single brands like Star Wars or Marvel.
The myriad of packs overwhelmed parents and children struggling to understand which ones were required for desired content. Even as a seasoned gamer, I found myself consulting online trackers frequently across 20+ releases.
TechRadar summed up the fragmentation challenges: "Lego Dimensions almost requires a flow chart to make sense of everything, It can be confusing for casual viewers and frustrating for completionists." [3]
Competitors like Skylanders and Disney Infinity focused on their own brands with simpler starter packs. Dimensions ambitious multimedia scope paradoxically became a barrier to mass market success.
Insufficient profitability
Ultimately, despite the LEGO brand recognition and generally positive reviews, LEGO Dimensions struggled to be profitable enough in the competitive toys-to-life market dominated by Activision and Disney.
Both development and licensing expenses kept piling up. Even selling the existing waves likely became untenable with press, marketing, distribution and retail margins all taking a cut.
So LEGO Group and Warner Bros decided to cut their losses, rather than sink millions more into future packs with declining consumer enthusiasm and rising budgetary pressures. Pulling the plug was an unfortunate business decision to focus resources elsewhere into more consistently bankable ventures.
The last legacy of its kind
As the toys-to-life category faded, LEGO Dimensions died alongside competitors like Disney Infinity. Today in 2024, no major interactive collectibles gaming series remain besides niche offerings.
Dimensions now ends up a bold co-development experiment between TT Games, Warner Bros and LEGO – one that couldn‘t crack market realities despite its creative blending of brands and formats.
The game and figures remain beloved by fans for the brief period it lasted. We can only wonder what additional magic the talented teams may have conjured if given more runway. LEGO Dimensions concludes an era as both casualties and pioneers of gaming innovation.
[1] BrickFanatics: https://brickfanatics.com/every-lego-dimensions-set-ranked/[2] LATimes: https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/herocomplex/la-et-hc-lego-dimensions-20150928-story.html
[3] TechRadar: https://www.techradar.com/news/gaming/lego-dimensions-everything-you-need-to-know-1290614
