So, you’ve bought this stable concept for a Lego set based mostly on Nintendo’s widespread action-adventure franchise The Legend of Zelda. You fine-tune the venture and submit it to Lego Concepts, a piece of the corporate’s web site the place followers share their very own proposals for brand spanking new units, however…wait, maintain on. Your concept simply bought rejected, with The Lego Group citing a “license battle” as the rationale. What’s occurring right here? Properly, it seems this has been occurring to a number of completely different fan-made initiatives centered on Nintendo’s fantasy IP.
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In accordance with a report from the Lego-obsessed information website Brick Fanatics, The Lego Group shouldn’t be solely rejecting The Legend of Zelda fan concepts however outright banning them. Not less than eight completely different initiatives, from a Breath of the Wild-inspired Hyrule Fortress to 1 that includes Ocarina of Time’s ultimate battle, have seemingly been blocked by the prolific toy maker. Regardless of these creations receiving some 10,000 votes from followers on Lego Concepts, which generally pushes submissions to the overview stage for doable consideration as official merchandise, the corporate’s board has allegedly rejected each single considered one of them.
And now, as evidenced by screenshots from Brick Fanatics, you may’t even submit initiatives based mostly on The Legend of Zelda to the Concepts part anymore. While you strive, the positioning asks in case your concept relies on an mental property. Choosing “Sure” and typing in “The Legend of Zelda” produces an error message saying the corporate has “already evaluated this IP and decided that we will’t enable submissions based mostly on it” due to some “license battle.” How bizarre.
The explanation for this “license battle” is murky, however Brick Fanatics pegs it to 2 potentialities. The primary is that The Lego Group might already be working with Nintendo to supply units based mostly on The Legend of Zelda, like the 2 have executed for Tremendous Mario. (Brick Fanatics famous that when submitting concepts for Mario Bros., the message cites a “present third occasion overlap” in its rejection.) The second is {that a} doable rival producer would possibly’ve swooped in to make units centered round Nintendo’s long-running collection, which may clarify that “license battle” error you get when attempting to submit concepts. (Once more, Brick Fanatics famous the identical “license battle” for Pokémon.)
Kotaku has reached out to The Lego Group and Nintendo for remark.
Whether or not there will likely be new Lego units in time for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom stays to be seen, as that sport will launch on Could 12, 2023.