TT not going to "take the piss" out of LEGO-game fans News

UK studio Traveller's Tales has insisted it will not "take the piss out of the consumer" in further expanding its licence-to-print-money LEGO mega-franchise.

Rich Earl, producer of the imminent LEGO Batman game, told Eurogamer the studio would cap future releases tied to the toy brand to preserve quality.

"There's an expectation now that there would be a LEGO game per year, and we certainly feel that one or two games would be the right amount per year, otherwise there'd be a saturation of LEGO games and they'd lose the charm," he revealed.

"We're also conscious that we're making games for young kids. We don't want to take the piss out of the consumer and end up making any old rubbish. We're hoping people feel our games are of a high standard and we want to continue doing that."

The LEGO Star Wars games titles alone have shifted over 15 million copies, with LEGO Indiana Jones topping charts earlier this year. And the developer's success is already impacting other media, with a LEGO Batman cartoon on the way, created using the game engine.

Beyond Batman, more LEGO-branded games are in the works at the studio, but Earl refused to be drawn on persistent rumours that, since being acquired by licence-holder Warner Bros. last November, Traveller's Tales had begun work on a Harry Potter title.

"Personally I hope [it happens]," said Earl. "The LEGO models are obviously there. With Warner's back catalogue of movies there's a lot of opportunities opened up, so we'll have to see. We haven't announced anything yet. We've got a wall of the next few years lined up in the office and it always keeps changing.

"As long we continue to make good games, and the gameplay doesn't get tired, then there's no reason why we can't continue to use the LEGO franchise and brings these famous characters to life."

Earl further hinted that more Star Wars and Indy titles could be on the way, adding: "We have a relationship with Lucas, so there's nothing to say we won't have more opportunities along that vein."

LEGO Batman releases on all major formats later this autumn. You can see more on the game and from our exclusive interview with Earl over on Eurogamer TV.