Why Did LEGO Stop Making Bionicle?

The short answer

LEGO ended the original Bionicle line in 2010 because sales had fallen and modern kids just weren't into it. A big part of the problem was the story: after ten years, the lore had grown so huge and tangled that new fans had no easy way in, and honestly, most of us overhype how great the story actually was.

So in 2015, LEGO rebooted Bionicle with a simpler story and new figures. However, it didn't really work, and it was killed off again in 2016, once more citing low sales.

Bionicle's first run: 2001 to 2010

Bionicle grew out of a LEGO Technic offshoot and launched in Europe and Australia in late 2000, then in North America in 2001. It was a huge hit: buildable action figures with masks, weapons, and a full mythology told through comics, books, games, and movies.

That mythology was also its weak point. By the late 2000s, Bionicle had a decade of characters, locations, and storylines stacked on top of each other. Longtime fans loved it, but a seven-year-old walking into a store had no idea where to start. LEGO announced the end of the line in late 2009, pointing to low sales and fading interest, and the last original sets came out in 2010.

The 2015 reboot, and why it ended in 2016

LEGO brought Bionicle back in January 2015 with a fresh, simpler story built around the classic Toa heroes. The reaction was mixed: fans were thrilled it was back, but many felt the new story was too thin, and the figures were simpler than the classics.

Somehow, LEGO failed to win over both longtime fans and newer, younger buyers, so it only lasted two years before LEGO ended it in 2016. Fans often point to light marketing and a heavy reliance on the existing fan base to promote it, which made it hard to win over new kids. But honestly? Bionicle was dying, and the reboot did nothing other than give it a few more years.

Will Bionicle ever come back?

Bionicle has become more and more likely to return as the years roll on. Of course, there was Hero Factory, which was supposed to be Bionicle 2.0 and failed miserably. But in the past five years, there have also been several system Bionicle sets, built from classic bricks instead of Technic, to great success.

Nothing official has been announced yet, but every time LEGO references it, the demand shows up instantly. If it ever returns, it will probably be as a nostalgia set for adult fans first.

Has LEGO made new Bionicle sets?

While LEGO may refuse to bring the entire theme back to life, that hasn't stopped it from giving us one-off sets and easter eggs. The LEGO Ninjago City Markets modular (71799, 2023) hid a Tahu nod that drove fans crazy. Later that same year, we got our first Bionicle set in over a decade: a system-built Tahu and Takua, given away as a gift with purchase. Most recently, a Tahu cosplayer showed up in LEGO Minifigures Series 29, which has lifted up the entire theme.

Images: The LEGO Group