The LEGO Group have provided a short statement regarding the LEGO® MINDSTORMS platform. The popular theme has seen a small number of sets and accessories released since 1998 and is much-loved by a dedicated community of fans. Unfortunately, at the end of this year, current MINDSTORMS products including the Robot Inventor kit will no longer be available. The companion app will continue to be supported until the end of 2024. What the future holds for MINDSTORMS remains unclear, but similar products are available through the LEGO Education product line.
Since its launch in September 1998, LEGO MINDSTORMS has been one of the core ‘Build & Code’ experiences in the company’s portfolio, carrying with it significant brand equity and becoming a stand-out experience for the early days of consumer robotics and leading to current Build & Code experiences such as SPIKE Prime, from LEGO Education’s LEGO Learning System.
However, now having a number of priorities in LEGO Education and other Build & Code experiences, we have decided to focus our resources and future plans by redirecting our MINDSTORMS Robot Inventor team and their expertise into different areas of the business.
This means the physical MINDSTORMS Robot Inventor product (51515) and its related elements (88016 and 88018) are to exit our portfolio from the end of 2022, whilst digital platforms – such as the LEGO MINDSTORMS Robot Inventor App – will remain live until at least the end of 2024.
We still have strong belief in the Build & Code proposition and will continue to support it through platforms such as SPIKE Prime, and we are continuing to hold on to the trademark for the MINDSTORMS brand and assessing our future plans together with LEGO Education.
13th January 2023
I think this is a real shame, these are excellent kits to introduce adults and young people to robotics. At the very least I would have liked Lego to continue software and app support for the forseeable future or to pass the software on to allow fan sites to maintain it.