ego Universe was a massively multiplayer online game and was available from October 2010 to February 2012. The servers were shut down permanently on January 30, 2012 due to 'unsatisfactory revenue' from within the game's target audience.
Lego Universe brought players from around the world together to build and fight against the Maelstrom and its minions. The player assumed the role of a Lego minifigure and travelled to various themed worlds, each with different enemies and challenges. Players could collect and earn gear that might be worn and fought with to aid them in achieving a wide range of set goals. Also, players could have Specialties, each one with their unique gear. In addition, minifigures could gain ranks which allow them to use more advanced gear.
The accessible full worlds were the pirate-themed Gnarled Forest, faction-oriented Nimbus Station, green and festive Avant Gardens, high-tech Nexus Tower, Maelstrom based Crux Prime, Ninjago's world Ninjago Monastery and the ninja-based Forbidden Valley. Custom-built rocket ships were used by players to travel between these worlds. Three racetracks are found on these worlds that allow players to race against each other with custom race cars.
Throughout the game players could collect Lego pieces that can be used to freely build models on their personal properties. Properties could be set to only allow in certain friends or to give access to anybody in the game.
Lego Universe was based on a subscription known as "Game-Time". A player could choose from one, six, and twelve month subscriptions (the six and twelve-month subscription times rendering special in-game bonuses when bought). Once a user bought a subscription, the Game Time refill code was sent periodically based on the subscription that was purchased, using a process known as auto-renewal. Game Time could also be purchased in the form of non-renewed game cards.
