LEGO Fusion was a short-lived, experimental product line released in August 2014 that combined physical LEGO building with digital mobile games using augmented reality (AR) technology. The theme was an attempt to merge the physical and digital play experiences, a concept the LEGO Group described as "fluid play".
Concept
The core of the LEGO Fusion experience was building a two-dimensional facade of an object (like a house, tower, or car) on a special "capture plate". A free accompanying app (for iOS and Android devices) would then use Qualcomm's Vuforia mobile vision platform to scan the creation and bring it to life as a three-dimensional, playable item within a virtual game world. Progress in the digital game required the user to return to the physical bricks and build new items or modify existing ones, creating a loop between real-world building and digital gameplay.
Sets and Availability
Only four sets were released as part of the theme, exclusively in North America, before being discontinued by the end of July 2015.
Town Master (21204): Based on the LEGO City theme, this set allowed users to build houses and manage a virtual town. It included a minifigure of the Mayor.
Battle Towers (21205): Tied to the LEGO Castle theme, this set focused on building and defending towers in a tower-defense-style game. Create and Race (21206): This set was based on the LEGO Racers theme and let children build and race cars in a digital game.
Resort Designer (21208): Part of the LEGO Friends theme and marketed primarily toward girls, this set involved building a resort and included a mini-doll figure of Olivia.
Legacy
While the LEGO Fusion theme itself was short-lived and is now a retired product line, it was a significant early step in the company's efforts to blend physical and digital play. Many of its ideas regarding augmented reality and connecting physical builds to digital experiences influenced later LEGO themes like LEGO Hidden Side and LEGO Dimensions. However, as the apps are no longer supported or available through official app stores, the digital components of the original sets are largely non-functional today, making them collectibles for their physical bricks alone.