After eight years developing a fan-made Bionicle adventure, the volunteer team at Unmasked Games has returned with Rustbound—a completely original project shaped by the experience of its cancelled game.
From Masks of Power to Rustbound
Unmasked Games, previously known as Team Kanohi, spent eight years creating Bionicle: Masks of Power. The project reimagined the assembled action figures as characters in a 3D action-adventure game.
The project appeared to have a path forward until Lego asked the team to stop work last summer. Unmasked Games was not given a specific reason, but believed the game may have looked too much like an official product.
In its statement on the cancellation, the team explained that searching for a Bionicle game could place its Steam page near the top of the results, making it easy for someone to mistake the fan project for an official release.
A new world with familiar creative roots
Rather than abandon the project, the developers redirected their efforts into Rustbound. The team describes it as an adventure set in an entirely original world, with more information available on the game’s website.
Rustbound remains in early development, and details beyond its cinematic teaser are limited. The footage shows a masked, mechanical-looking figure emerging from brown sand beneath a pale blue sky. The scene then twists into an unsettling red version of the world.
Those visual ideas make the project’s creative history easy to recognise without presenting it as a continuation of Masks of Power. Whether the team adapted earlier assets or rebuilt the game from the beginning has not been confirmed, but its previous development work has clearly informed the new project.
Unmasked Games also shared around two hours of demo gameplay from Masks of Power. The team said that demo would have needed several more months of polishing before an unannounced release, so it should be viewed as unfinished material. You can watch the footage on YouTube.
The uncertain ground beneath fan games
Fan-made games and mods occupy an unpredictable legal space. Rights holders may tolerate non-commercial projects, but that permission is never guaranteed and can change as a project becomes more visible or begins to resemble an official release.
The long-running Skyblivion mod demonstrates that some rights holders can support ambitious community work. Bethesda has approved that project and even hosted its developers, as reported in this report about the developers’ visit.
That contrast also explains why Unmasked Games chose a new setting and identity. Rustbound lets the team carry forward its hard-won development experience without relying on the Bionicle name or its protected world.
Why this matters to arcade fans
Projects such as Rustbound show how community developers can turn years of work into new creative directions. For enthusiasts interested in building their own playable projects, RETROCADE’s DIY arcade kits and arcade parts offer practical starting points.
Those planning a home setup can also explore the arcade machine buying guide before choosing a cabinet, while the wider arcade news and features section follows the people and projects shaping gaming culture.
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