After eight years in development, BIONICLE: Masks of Power, a fan-made video game project by Team Kanohi, has been shut down at LEGO’s request. The project, which was developed by a team of volunteers, was in the final stages of bugfixing and polishing for the release of its Steam demo, originally planned for August 10th. According to a release by Team Kanohi, The LEGO Group contacted them directly, requesting the project be shut down and scrubbed from public access.
The release also announced that Team Kanohi has since rebranded to Unmasked Games and is developing a unique property of its own, Project Rustbound.
The release also emphasizes the efforts Team Kanohi went to to ensure compliance with LEGO’s Fair Play guidelines, pointing out that the LEGO Group has previously supported similar fan projects using the BIONICLE IP. Team Kanohi was never given an exact reason for the takedown request, though the team speculates that the project may have been “too easy to mistake for an unofficial product.” BIONICLE: Masks of Power was originally planned to release on Steam and had an official Steam app page, which has been repurposed to host updates for Project Rustbound.
While the full game will never see a public release, Team Kanohi has shared a video walkthrough of the demo in its current state.
