Eight years of development on a fan-made Bionicle game have culminated in a new original title from the team formerly known as Team Kanohi, now operating as Unmasked Games. The previous project, Bionicle: Masks of Power, was an action-adventure game that aimed to bring the popular construction toy line to life in a 3D environment. While Lego, the owner of the Bionicle intellectual property, initially appeared to tolerate the fan project, the team was ultimately asked to cease development last summer.
Unmasked Games has stated that Lego did not provide a specific reason for the cancellation. However, the developers speculated that their game might have been too easily mistaken for an official Lego product. They noted in a statement that searches for "Bionicle game" on Google prominently featured the Steam page for BIONICLE: Masks of Power, potentially leading casual observers to believe it was an official release.
Despite the setback, the team has not abandoned their passion for game development and has since unveiled Rustbound, an entirely original game set in a new world. A cinematic teaser trailer offers a glimpse of the game's aesthetic, featuring a character reminiscent of a Bionicle figure with a white mask, rising from sand under a pale blue sky. The environment then shifts to an ominous red hue, suggesting a darker tone for the new project.
While Rustbound is in its early stages of development, Unmasked Games has shared limited details beyond the teaser. It remains unclear whether assets created for Bionicle: Masks of Power were repurposed or if all elements for Rustbound were developed from scratch. The experience gained from their previous project, however, is expected to inform the new game's development. For those interested in seeing the earlier work, two hours of Bionicle: Masks of Power demo gameplay are available on YouTube. Unmasked Games mentioned that the demo would have required a few months of additional polish before a potential release.
Fan-made game projects often operate in a legal gray area. Companies may tolerate such projects if they are non-commercial, but this can change without warning, as demonstrated by the situation with Lego and Unmasked Games. The longevity of projects like the Skyblivion mod, which has received support from Bethesda, highlights the varied responses from IP holders, but the Unmasked Games situation underscores the inherent instability of such endeavors.