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Lego is taking on Skylanders with its own version of toy-based video games

Lego is taking on Skylanders with its own version of toy-based video games

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You've got Lego bricks in my game

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The massive success of Skylanders has spawned a new genre of video games that interact with real world toys. Both Disney and Nintendo have built their own competitors, and now another big name is getting in on the action: Lego.

Today, Warner Bros. Interactive announced Lego Dimensions. Just like its competitors, it will be a lighthearted action game where physical toys can interact with the virtual world: players will be able to use a portal to send Lego characters and objects into the game. Just like in The Lego Movie, this means there's plenty of room for different fictional universes to collide in-game.

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The starter pack will come bundled with three characters — Batman, Gandalf, and The Lego Movie's Wyldstyle — alongside a tiny Batmobile and a portal for scanning characters. The portal, naturally, is made of Lego bricks and you'll have to build it yourself. Expansion packs scheduled for later this year will cover everything from Back to the Future to the Wizard of Oz.

Lego Dimensions

The game is being developed by Traveller's Tales, the same studio behind the many, many well-received Lego video games of the past few years. The studio's Lego games have covered everything from Harry Potter to Star Wars, and soon will include Jurassic World as well. Lego Dimensions is coming to the PS4, PS3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, and Wii U on September 27th.

While it's perhaps a bit delayed, bringing Lego into the "toys-to-life" space is an obvious move. Activision's Skylanders franchise has earned more than $3 billion since its debut in 2011. The series has sold more than 240 million toys, and last year expanded from consoles to tablets. Meanwhile, competitor Disney Infinity has spawned several games, including one starring Marvel characters, and Nintendo's newer amiibo line has already sold millions of tiny plastic characters — which will soon include one made of yarn.

Lego Dimensions gif
Lego Dimensions