LEGO 2K Drive got announced for the Nintendo Switch earlier this week and if you have been wondering about whether or not there'll be an option to spend money on the game, it seems there will be.
A 2K representative has told Wccftech there will be "real money" in play. While players earn "Brickbux" from regular gameplay, there will also be coins that can be purchased with real currency and spent at a store. 2K says there'll be safety measures in place to ensure parents have the final say:
“Lego 2K Drive features an in-game store, Unkie’s Emporium, where players can acquire optional items including new vehicles, minifigures and more. There are two types of items in the store, ones that can be purchased using Brickbux earned through playing, or ones that can be purchased using coins obtained through a real currency purchase. Safety and responsibility was a top priority for us when creating Lego 2K Drive. To ensure parents can make the right decisions for their kids, to make purchases a player must create a 2K Account. If the player is underage, their account must be verified by an adult, who then has the ability to block in-game money purchases.”

In addition to real money, the game's press release also confirms LEGO 2K Drive as a "live service game". It will include its own "Drive Pass" and seasonal updates as part of this. You can learn more about this upcoming release in our own hands-on:
How do you feel about the ability to spend real money in-game? Leave a comment below.
Please note that some external links on this page are affiliate links, which means if you click them and make a purchase we may receive a small percentage of the sale. Please read our FTC Disclosure for more information.
[source wccftech.com]
Comments 119
Just went from wanting this game to no longer wanting this game.
Lol. Not gonna get it.
My hype:
Try not to have a battle pass in a game challenge
Not predictable at all, lol. Welp, ty to them for saving me and my family a lot of money!
Reminds me of Mod Nation Racers for the PS3. If only they can add Customization in Mario Kart 9, that would be Incredible!
And they lost me
Im getting real tired of these full priced games with micro transactions and battle passes, modern gaming is wild.
Aaaand i lost interest.
No way i'm supporting this.
@UltimateInkling Same! It’s understandable enough with free games, cuz how else will they make money? But when it’s a AAA, full priced release, and they announce micro transactions BEFORE THE GAME IS EVEN OUT then it’s just such a middle finger to everyone
My @$$ (and yes, the $$ is intentional, feel free to edit/delete the comment if needed).
If it was, you wouldn't have implemented such features.
This game broadly borrows from Forza Horizon series (which had lego expansion packs). If they don't have more monetization than Forza Horizon, I expect people won't really complain. So far, Lego games have avoided abusing micro transactions. We'll see how it pans out, I guess. I'm open to being wrong.
Okay, adios.
I will not support micro transactions and etc.
Guess I will stick on Race with Ryan PS4.
There goes my interest.
Of course. It's 2K.
@rjejr ah, man someone beat me to that meme.
but ya.
Mo Money
And just like that all interest are gone.
It’s 2k, the guys that put full on adverts in their full price basketball games, are we surprised?
Welp, there goes my interest in this game.
And no save files on console - always online ?
All I can say is: wow.
To mirror earlier commenters, it's crazy to treat this like a f2p, but charge for the 'base' game. Guh, I'm really happy I'm someone that can enjoy a well crafted indie game because in this era of gaming, there's more gold to be had in that market of games than there is in the AAA spaces, where fleecing you of your precious hard earned cash seems to be all they want to be good at. Unfortunate, but nothing much was lost.
@StarPoint
Except 2K from PS2 era for Dora the Explorer and Go Diego Go games. 😆
Those games have no micro transactions, everything already in a disc.
Nevermind. I'm not hyped anymore. It looked so cool too.
I love how everyone's upset about the micro transactions (I am too by the way) but Nobody cared that the ultra deluxe whatever edition was 120 bucks. Very disappointing. I'll pick this up when No one buys it then it's ten bucks
@Poodlestargenerica You'd think that a game with microtransactions would be free...
I guess EA = Activision = Ubisoft = 2K. Greed is their main motivation. I blame all the idiots who actually spend money on those sh*tty live service games and enabling evil companies to exist. Without them, this trend would have died before it even started
@wutadam But it's ONLY 120 dollars.....
Blame Microsoft for bringing paywall in gaming.
I'm only buying Lego games made by TT. They've done reasonably-priced dlc for their titles, but that's it. 2k were always going to monetise the living daylights out of this.
Well, that is all I really needed to know. I will be passing on this one. Even if the micro transactions aren't intrusive, I just don't like them being in my games. And I especially don't enjoy seasonal content.
Another one to add to the "jog on and die" list.
I will drive pass this one.
@Poodlestargenerica eh, hey chief sorry to burst your bubble but it's a live service. If no one is playing online, it's gone forever.
Of course, an online connection is required on our end, but if they can't deliver that service on their end (outages, maintenance, etc)? Sucks for us!
I was thinking about getting og but now I guess I’m sticking to MK8D
LEGO: Only the best is good enough.
Also LEGO: Microtransactions are a totally acceptable thing to add to a game!
MTX in a game geared towards children. What can go wrong? We know the US won't do much but Europe is usually pretty good about holding companies accountable. This should be interesting.
Given the 87 Lego games they put out a year to start with I can't even begin to imagine putting extra money into one of them.
Well this did look good but they just had to say "live service"...
"Safety and responsibility was a top priority"
Well maybe, JUST MAYBE, you make the extra stuff unlockable through regular play, like an ACTUAL LEGO GAME.
I'm so proud of everyone in this comment section for not taking the dive into this kind of bull practice.
figures, knew it was prob doomed the second they said 2k, woulda been a really hype thing otherwise, shame
@Platinum-Bucket It really sucks cause the game looks really cool but its ruined by that, id maybe give it a pass if it came to ps plus or gamepass.
@LikelySatan I get where you're coming from since they make a new NBA 2k every year, so it won't drop when the new one comes out, but where did you see that this is online only? I'm not doubting you but I have not seen that, and I couldn't find it.
My excitement has definitely tempered, but as long as it's not overly intrusive I think I'll still pick it up just for the gameplay. If it's just cosmetic stuff then whatever.
Live service? I’m out.
I’ve got the lego dlc for FH4 anyway.
Wow, been a while since I've seen a game's hype levels make a complete 180 so quickly.
yeah thats the last i want to hear from this game.
Weird that they haven't noticed that basically every other game that tries to be live service yet charges full retail for the base game has failed horribly.
Pick a lane (haha racing pun) and go f2p with paid passes or be a normal retail game.
Even the title of the game is an advert. Crazy.
@Poodlestargenerica Doesn't the "live service" part usually mean that? I could be wrong, it's happened before.
Really? Microtransactions in a game that costs 60 dollars? Yeah no. I understand if it’s free (how else are they supposed to make money?) but putting microtransactions in a game that you need to pay to even play in the first place? Yeah that’s so greedy that even wario would be dumbfounded by the pure levels of greed.
Darn I actually was interested in this game. Oh well, more money for moon pies and penny whistles.
@LikelySatan No I think that just means an active online service that they try to incentive people to play. I'm pretty sure this game has offline and that will be playable indefinitely. Which is not an endorsement of their choices btw.
Drive pass?
Then I'll pass.
that seals the deal there. i'll be getting something else instead. Thanks 2K!
Aaaand I'm out.
Why not just make the game F2P? That's how most modern GaaS titles operate nowadays.
And again greed kills a potential great game
If “safety and responsibility” was their main concern when making this game, there wouldn’t be any micro transactions…
Hey, 2k, did you know you can still make games without them? Mind blowing, I know
Yeah this definitely dampens my interest in the game a bit. If I can play the game offline completely fine then I'll be still on board, but if its an always-online game, I probably won't bother, which sucks because the trailer looked really cool and could be actual Forza Horizon
To no industry-savvy person's surprise regarding a game with "2K" in the title.😏 But as usual, the ball is in the parents' court with these; a parent who can't be bothered with this or an adult gamer having no faith in the grip on their own impulses would be better off investing in something equally fun but [apparently] MTX-free like Burnout Paradise or LCU indeed.
@Alpha008 2K: "hey, Alpha008, you know what kind of game is easier to explain budgeting in a subsequent investor call in 2023 AD? Mind blowing, we know"
Well according to the GAME website, you get a bonus physical car for pre-ordering, but the Switch game itself is download code in box 😒 other consoles look to be disc.
Haha typical and now its a no for me
@UltimateInkling,
Its a tough one, because the development costs with modern gaming have gone through the roof, but the prices of games has stayed pretty constant. Also if a developer wants to charge a higher price, like the new Zelda for example, it's always met with lots of hostility etc.
So not sure what the developers of full priced games are mean to do, and then you get the issue where certain DLC is deemed o.k, or great value, whereas other packages are net with outrage, and some forms of content are deemed acceptable, while others not, I would hate to be a modern games developer, as getting the balance right for all this is a nightmare
Of course we do have to be very careful to access if this is the wider gaming market is up in arms, or more a core gamer issue, but still it's a tricky situation.
Well, we all knew this was going to happen. Such a shame.
@GrailUK,
It was pretty obvious from the trailer.
The Chocobo racer did so well as a full price title with micro transactions, oh wait.
Such a terrible business decision
This "Safety and responsibility was a top priority for us when creating Lego 2K Drive" is about as genuine as a "We care about your privacy" from cookie banners.
Another game I don’t need to worry about.
The industry performing self harm over and over is sad to watch.
Release a whole proper game with unlockables and no MT and watch it sell.
Hogwarts said early “no MT” the hype started building
@Everythingnotsaved They want to make sure the kids are safe whilst they are fleecing them.
Free to play mechanics in a paid for game. Well that makes this an easy pass
And all my interest is gone. Why do they keep doing that?
Hopefully they will fail miserably with this
it's so sad that these fools decided to do this :/....sad thing is that my sibling warned me about this company 2k..they like to add microtransaction to any of there upcoming games, it's what they're known for and it's annoyingly grotesque.
what makes it worse is that lego collaborated with them, i know for a fact some people at lego already know 2k track record history - this is just trash.
i was really hoping that this time they wouldn't do this...ugh... - people aren't made out of money man, people are out here suffering as it is from money problems, these companies to indie devs doing this stunt is just wrong.
on another note, 2k was never like this, years ago they were great but...get bought out..
This game was an easy skip for me even before this announcement so I don't particularly feel anything, lol. But the business model has potential for sure, buy a game at full price and keep investing in it, lmfao
Disgusting from Lego. No sale.
Giving this a wide berth. My kids have every Lego game released on the Switch but I can see the headaches at home buying this. Big pass from me.
Back to Forza, GT and Mario Kart it is then.
Even the current NFS game didn’t go this route, but it wouldn’t surprise me if EA did the same now that 2K did it too.
this makes me sad, it's a LEGO videogame. where supposedly all your dreams of building with all the parts and minifigures you could imagine can come to life, but because of capitalsim now they have to pervert the main great element of a lego videogame just for moneys. hate this
This is another reason why 99.99% of what I play is indie...
Despite all the comments here, this game is probably going to sell like hotcakes.
When will you learn that your actions have consequences?
Hahahaha hype level went from over 9000 to 0 immediately. My feelings summed up right there 🤣
2K Games don't be the gaming devil challenge
A bummer for sure, but I suppose even games like Forza Horizon use this kind of model. If implemented well, it won't be a problem, but it still feels kind of unnecessary.
@tseliot Sadly you're right but I think though it will be parents buying it for their kids now. Most adults despise Live Service games so I can't see many people in that regard buying it.
And with that, you lost me. I was hoping that this would be like LEGO Racers, where you get to build your own cars, but if that's a feature in the game, they are not advertising it, and instead are opting to showcase microtransactions and season passes.
Everyone freaking out over some paid cosmetics in a racing game. (Especially Lego games, how many dlc packs were sold alongside the latest starwars game?)
You usually have the option to just play the free track of the battle pass if you don't want to pay for extra stuff.
I actually enjoy having a battle pass in these kinds of game, it gives me something to grind towards rather than just a garage full of cars I will never use.
Sigh Companies didn't learn anything from Chocobo GP, did they (and I seriously doubt they'll backpedal like Square Enix at least eventually did with that).
The amount of battle passes / pay to win trash games is starting to worry me.
NO to micro-transaction in game to play but only preordering for the LEGO car included. But remember DLC can also be considered micro-transaction unless they are free DLC.
@UltimateInkling that’s it; the micro transactions aren’t the problem the combination of full retail game with micro transactions is the issue.
You can’t have your cake and eat it too. I came from being hyped for this game to hoping it crashes and burns
@sanderev it is a deplorable trend but I am not worried. I am big fan of retro gaming lol if newer devs don’t want my money it’s ok with me my gaming hobby will survive.
@WoomyNNYes yeah but those didn't involve 2k
@Dragnoran That is true.😁
@Kermit1 When this thread gets to 100 comments you can probably post it again as people will scroll right past mine. 😉
@westman98 They can make it F2P like Disney Speedstorm, then charge $30, $50 or $70 to play it. 🤑
https://www.nintendo.com/store/products/disney-speedstorm-standard-founders-pack-switch/
@dil_power Same here. I find i am playing more and more retro titles nowadays thanks to all the greed, mtx, battle passes, cosmetic and pre order shenanigans. Whats worse now is so much content is advertised and held back even before games are released. Its the kind of greed that will eventually wreck the industry.
Eh, as long as the game itself (particularly the offline portion) is fun, the live service elements can go "Wario" for all I care. I'm never swayed easily.
Now, if this game went the path of "Marvel's Avengers" with ho-hum gameplay (among other things) alongside its live service elements...hoo boy...
@Poodlestargenerica hmmmm...okay. I feel like the term is getting muddied, but then that's probably intentional.
Let me see . . .
The only thing they’re missing is loot boxes. Which they would have put in there if they weren’t starting to be regulated in some countries. Absolutely one of scummiest things I’ve ever seen, and that’s saying a lot, given how much this stuff has been normalized in recent years.
I love Lego, and I love racing games, but I won’t be buying this game, because I wouldn’t be able to boot it up without feeling like the game is constantly trying to reach into my wallet.
Then it better be free
Here goes another Chocobo GP. Color me 100% uninterested now.
@Chaotic_Neutral Exactly my thoughts, DLCs are just heavily bundled micro transactions
2k has become the new EA.
Lost all interest in this now just like when the Capcom showcase announced Exoprimal was the same.
This game is already $50 to begin with, why do we need to have microtransactions?!
Removed from my wish list. The kids will be disappointed.
It's a full price game intentionally made to be incomplete to sell you the missing content for extra. No Thanks!
mm nah I'm good
I wanted it & now I don't.
the whole point of paying a premium price for games is so I never ever have to see a micro transactions screen for basic gameplay features.
more importantly, because they're gambling with real money, this game is going to be highly illegal in Most states in the US --I hope the litigation burns the company to the ground if this is the Direction they're going.
@Grumblevolcano exoprimal looks amazing, what has put you off picking it up?
@Thwomp_Stomper Had to read what you said below, I thought you were talking about how long the game would last before it's servers were shut down.
Clearly they are targeting kids that don't know the value of money.
Hard pass on this one.
aaaaaand any interest i had in this game has vanished in an instant
“New Lego Racing Game”
Aww heck yeah I used to love Lego Racers!
“Available to pre-order now with bonuses”
Cool so it’s a standard boxed game with all the content in it, nice! Though the different pre-order bonus and editions are confusing and give unnecessary Fomo.
“It’s a live service and has a battle pass”
Ok you ruined it. I’ll pass.
Thanks, but no.
This game was on my to buy list.....
It isn't anymore.
Yeah, no. I don’t ever buy a game which begs for extra money - potential pestering from kids to buy additional bells and whistles just ain’t worth it. And that’s not even considering how the presence of additional transactions ruin game play.
Original excitement gone in a puff of 2K greed.
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...