A new video game based on the upcoming film Space Jam: A New Legacy is coming to Xbox. On Wednesday, Xbox and Warner Bros. announced Space Jam: A New Legacy – The Game will be available free-to-play for Xbox users on July 15, one day before the movie hits theatres and HBO Max. However, the game launches exclusively into Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Perks — a free benefits program that makes in-game add-ons, consumables, partner offers and more available to Ultimate members — globally and for a limited time on July 1.
In December, LeBron James, Bugs Bunny and Xbox invited fans to submit their ideas for the game. There were two winners in the competition — Narayan, the youth-competition winner from India, and Ricky, the adult-competition winner from the United States. The game features James, Bugs Bunny and Lola Bunny, and the layout is similar to arcade games from the 1990s.
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In a statement, Ricky said: “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!” For Narayan, it’s all about the love of video games.
“I love playing video games to experience the story, environment and mechanics,” Narayan said. “I am very excited and overjoyed to have my game idea brought to life by Xbox. It’s a dream come true.” Along with the game, Xbox also announced three new wireless controllers inspired by Space Jam: A New Legacy. One controller has the Tune Squad design, the other is based on the Goon Squad while the last one focuses on the Serververse. The controllers will be available on July 8.
“Our team is mainly composed of game industry veterans who grew up when arcades were flourishing,” Stephen Frost, executive producer, Digital Eclipse, said in a statement. “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.”
