There's some good news for fans of Space Jam: A New Legacy, LeBron James, and the Tune Squad today. Over at Xbox, it's been revealed that Space Jam: A New Legacy – The Game will launch exclusively for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Perks globally and for a limited time on July 1st before becoming more widely available July 15th. The "Perks" are a free benefit program that makes in-game add-ons, consumables, partner offers and more available to Ultimate members. The cool thing here, beyond the movie tie-in, is that the game actually came from fans, both young and young-at-heart, out there in the real world.
Back in late 2020, Xbox teamed up with LeBron James and Bugs Bunny to find the best fan-submitted video game ideas ahead of this summer’s sequel, a highly-anticipated animated adventure at that. As Xbox puts it, "The team loved the idea for a classic beat ’em up game with a storyline that focused on the intersection of pop culture and game mechanics from winners Ricky in the United States and Narayan in India." Now, with the help of video game developer, Digital Eclipse, Xbox has turned their vision into an arcade-style reality.
Here's what contest winners Ricky and Narayan had to say:
“The biggest inspiration for my ideas for the game was my love for classic beat ‘em up games. With the theme and settings of ‘Space Jam: A New Legacy’ and Looney Tunes there's so much room for creativity and having such lively characters makes even the thinking process so much fun!” - Ricky
“I love playing video games to experience the story, environment and mechanics. I am very excited and overjoyed to have my game idea brought to life by Xbox. It’s a dream come true.” -Narayan
Check out the first-look trailer below:
This past December, Xbox, LeBron James and Bugs Bunny – the ultimate dream team – invited real-life game fans to submit their ideas for a Space Jam: A New Legacy video game.
“Space Jam: A New Legacy - The Game” features the beloved Looney Tunes characters Bugs Bunny and Lola Bunny and the newest member of the Tune Squad, LeBron James, as they face the Goon Squad in a wacky basketball beat ‘em up. The game is launching on July 1st exclusively into Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Perks for a limited time. The game will be available free-to-play for all fans through the Microsoft Store on Xbox on July 15th.
Stephen Frost, Executive Producer of Digital Eclipse, followed up, saying:
“Our team is mainly composed of game industry veterans who grew up when arcades were flourishing. That era of gaming is a constant reminder of some of the happiest times in our lives. That feeling of joy—along with the incredible Looney Tunes IP and of course a basketball icon like LeBron—is what drove us to try and capture the magic of those days and the spirit of games popular during that time. We wanted to bring a taste of that to modern gamers, especially those who never got to experience the days of arcades, while also reigniting a sense of nostalgia.”
Be sure to head on over to the Xbox write-up for more info about the game, its development, and the new specially designed controllers that will be released alongside it!
Look for Space Jam: A New Legacy - The Game as an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Perks exclusive this July 1st before becoming widely available July 15th, just a day before the movie itself opens.