# TT Games
**TT Games** is a British video game developer based in Manchester, England, best known for the long-running series of LEGO-licensed action-adventure games such as *LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga* and *LEGO Marvel Super Heroes*. The company was formed in 2005 by the merger of the development studio [Traveller's Tales](https://www.edgepedia.org/travellers-tales), led by managing director [Jon Burton](https://www.edgepedia.org/jon-burton), and the publisher Giant Interactive Entertainment, led by head of production Jonathan Smith, and it has been owned by Warner Bros. since November 2007.[1](https://www.tepapa.govt.nz/assets/76067/1692679476-game_masters_sample_pages.pdf) • [2](https://www.mobygames.com/company/9000/tt-games-ltd/history/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Founded | Traveller's Tales established in 1989 by Jon Burton; merged with publisher Giant Interactive Entertainment in 2005 to form TT Games Ltd[3](https://www.mobygames.com/company/1925/tt-games-studios-ltd/history/) • [2](https://www.mobygames.com/company/9000/tt-games-ltd/history/) |
| Ownership | Acquired by Warner Bros. on November 8, 2007; a GameSpot report put the price at £100 million[2](https://www.mobygames.com/company/9000/tt-games-ltd/history/) • [4](https://www.gamespot.com/articles/report-warner-paid-100-million-for-travellers-tales/1100-6182703/) |
| Signature title | *LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game* (2005), the first LEGO collaboration, sold over 7 million copies[5](https://www.ttgames.com/studio) |
| Output | Over 60 games produced in more than 35 years of operation[5](https://www.ttgames.com/studio) |
| Group companies | Includes the development studio TT Fusion and the TV production company TT Animation[6](https://criticdb.com/studio/tt-games) |
| Locations | Manchester, Brighton, and Knutsford, UK, within the Warner Bros. Games group[7](https://careers.wbd.com/games) |
| Latest release | *LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight* (May 2026), built in Unreal Engine 5, with Metacritic scores of 83 to 86 across platforms[8](https://www.metacritic.com/company/tt-games/) • [9](https://www.creativebloq.com/3d/video-game-design/why-lego-batman-legacy-of-the-dark-knight-switched-to-unreal-engine-5) |
## Origins and the LEGO partnership
Jon Burton set up Traveller's Tales in 1989 after having problems selling his own video game to other software companies.[4](https://www.gamespot.com/articles/report-warner-paid-100-million-for-travellers-tales/1100-6182703/) The studio spent the 1990s and early 2000s making licensed titles, including *[Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex](https://www.edgepedia.org/crash-bandicoot-the-wrath-of-cortex)*, before turning to LEGO.[10](https://ttmodding.fandom.com/wiki/Engine)
**The LEGO formula.** In 2005 the studio released *LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game*, the start of a collaboration that BAFTA describes as having begun with a family-orientated best-seller, and the game sold over 7 million copies.[11](https://static.bafta.org/uploads_pre_202411/baftaselectslegogamesseries.pdf) • [5](https://www.ttgames.com/studio) The design task was to integrate familiar [Star Wars](https://www.edgepedia.org/star-wars) archetypes into the plastic universe of the LEGO play materials, a problem the studio had to solve from scratch.[12](https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/tt-games-immersed-in-toys) Immediately after that release, Traveller's Tales acquired Giant Interactive, and the two combined to form TT Games.[13](https://www.theringer.com/2022/04/08/video-games/lego-star-wars-skywalker-saga-tt-games-crunch-culture)
The formula proved durable. A stream of LEGO character game series followed, including *LEGO Batman*, *LEGO Indiana Jones*, *LEGO Lord of the Rings*, *LEGO Harry Potter*, and *LEGO Marvel Super Heroes*.[11](https://static.bafta.org/uploads_pre_202411/baftaselectslegogamesseries.pdf) For years the TT action-adventure titles were effectively the entirety of LEGO digital play; in 2017 the LEGO Group decided to explore new genres and audiences beyond that partnership, funding studios such as Light Brick Studio, whose *LEGO Builder's Journey* took digital LEGO play in a different direction.[14](https://www.lego.com/cdn/cs/set/assets/bltbc3b7e4fbaec6b02/bits_n_bricks_s01e17_lego_video_games_and_digital_play_feature_and_transcript.pdf)
## Warner Bros. ownership
Warner Bros. acquired the company on November 8, 2007, reportedly paying £100 million for Traveller's Tales.[2](https://www.mobygames.com/company/9000/tt-games-ltd/history/) • [4](https://www.gamespot.com/articles/report-warner-paid-100-million-for-travellers-tales/1100-6182703/) Before the acquisition the company had also bought Embryonic Studios in January 2007 and the motion capture agency Centroid Motion Capture Limited in May 2007.[3](https://www.mobygames.com/company/1925/tt-games-studios-ltd/history/) TT Games now sits within [Warner Bros. Games](https://www.edgepedia.org/warner-bros-games) alongside studios such as [Rocksteady](https://www.edgepedia.org/rocksteady), NetherRealm, Avalanche Software, and WB Games Montréal.[7](https://careers.wbd.com/games)
The studio's own history marks *LEGO Marvel Super Heroes* as its bestselling game ever, released to mark ten years of LEGO titles, and *LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga* (2022) as its biggest LEGO title to date.[5](https://www.ttgames.com/studio)
## Working conditions
In 2022, more than 30 current and former employees told [Polygon](https://www.edgepedia.org/polygon-website) that the studio's last decade of work on the LEGO license had been marked by crunch, mismanagement, and sexism, culminating in a burned-out workforce struggling to release *LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga*.[15](https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/tt-games-devs-describe-crunch-abuse-while-making-lego-games) The Skywalker Saga cycle asked employees to build an unusually deep combat system, something new for the company, while also dealing with the problems of using a game tool that was still early in development.[15](https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/tt-games-devs-describe-crunch-abuse-while-making-lego-games) The Ringer's account of the same period framed the well-received Skywalker Saga against this development culture.[13](https://www.theringer.com/2022/04/08/video-games/lego-star-wars-skywalker-saga-tt-games-crunch-culture)
## Engines and technology
All Traveller's Tales-produced mainline console and PC games from *Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex* to *The LEGO Movie 2 Videogame* ran on iterations of the same in-house engine, which datamining by the modding community has revealed is internally called "nu2api".[10](https://ttmodding.fandom.com/wiki/Engine) • [16](https://www.pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Engine_talk%3ANu2) The games use proprietary data formats for almost everything, which has made extracting and modifying game data difficult for modders.[17](https://github.com/JaanDev/lego-tt-nxg-formats)
## Recent releases
*LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight*, released in May 2026 for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X, is the studio's first [Unreal Engine 5](https://www.edgepedia.org/unreal-engine-5) title. It leans on the [Batman: Arkham](https://www.edgepedia.org/batman-arkham) series, combining that series' action and open-world discovery with LEGO humor, and it pays frame-by-frame tribute to the Batman films within a single [Gotham City](https://www.edgepedia.org/gotham-city).[8](https://www.metacritic.com/company/tt-games/) • [18](https://www.gamesradar.com/best-games-of-2026/) • [19](https://www.creativebloq.com/3d/video-game-design/the-unreal-engine-5-secrets-that-made-the-highest-rated-lego-game-of-all-time-possible) Metacritic lists scores of 86 for the Xbox Series X version, 84 for PC, and 83 for PlayStation 5.[8](https://www.metacritic.com/company/tt-games/) The studio won the GamesIndustry.biz Best Large Company award at the Best Places to Work Awards 2026.[20](https://www.ttgames.com/)
The studio's position within Warner Bros. has shifted with corporate events: Warner Bros. Earlier reporting had noted that LEGO was reportedly not planning to extend the studio's exclusive license, putting the studio's all-LEGO future in doubt.[13](https://www.theringer.com/2022/04/08/video-games/lego-star-wars-skywalker-saga-tt-games-crunch-culture) • [21](https://progameguides.com/lego/best-lego-games-made-by-tt-games/)
## References
1. [TT GAMES UK, Game Masters sample pages, Te Papa](https://www.tepapa.govt.nz/assets/76067/1692679476-game_masters_sample_pages.pdf)
2. [TT Games Ltd. history, MobyGames](https://www.mobygames.com/company/9000/tt-games-ltd/history/)
3. [TT Games Studios Ltd. history, MobyGames](https://www.mobygames.com/company/1925/tt-games-studios-ltd/history/)
4. [Report: Warner paid £100 million for Traveller's Tales, GameSpot](https://www.gamespot.com/articles/report-warner-paid-100-million-for-travellers-tales/1100-6182703/)
5. [TT Games Studio: The History of TT Games](https://www.ttgames.com/studio)
6. [TT Games: Best Games, Ranked by Critics, CriticDB](https://criticdb.com/studio/tt-games)
7. [Warner Bros. Games careers, Warner Bros. Discovery](https://careers.wbd.com/games)
8. [TT Games, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/company/tt-games/)
9. [How Unreal Engine 5 helped create Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight's dense open world, Creative Bloq](https://www.creativebloq.com/3d/video-game-design/why-lego-batman-legacy-of-the-dark-knight-switched-to-unreal-engine-5)
10. [Engine, Traveller's Tales Lego Game Modding Wiki](https://ttmodding.fandom.com/wiki/Engine)
11. [BAFTA Selects: LEGO Games series handout](https://static.bafta.org/uploads_pre_202411/baftaselectslegogamesseries.pdf)
12. [TT Games: Immersed in Toys, Game Developer](https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/tt-games-immersed-in-toys)
13. ['Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga' Is a Good Game and an Ethical Quandary, The Ringer](https://www.theringer.com/2022/04/08/video-games/lego-star-wars-skywalker-saga-tt-games-crunch-culture)
14. [Bits N' Bricks S01E17: LEGO video games and digital play transcript, LEGO Group](https://www.lego.com/cdn/cs/set/assets/bltbc3b7e4fbaec6b02/bits_n_bricks_s01e17_lego_video_games_and_digital_play_feature_and_transcript.pdf)
15. [TT Games devs describe crunch, abuse while making Lego games, Game Developer](https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/tt-games-devs-describe-crunch-abuse-while-making-lego-games)
16. [Engine talk:Nu2, PCGamingWiki](https://www.pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Engine_talk%3ANu2)
17. [lego-tt-nxg-formats, GitHub (JaanDev)](https://github.com/JaanDev/lego-tt-nxg-formats)
18. [The best games to play in 2026, so far, GamesRadar+](https://www.gamesradar.com/best-games-of-2026/)
19. [The Unreal Engine 5 secrets that made the highest-rated Lego game of all time possible, Creative Bloq](https://www.creativebloq.com/3d/video-game-design/the-unreal-engine-5-secrets-that-made-the-highest-rated-lego-game-of-all-time-possible)
20. [TT Games: Official LEGO Video Game Studio](https://www.ttgames.com/)
21. [7 best LEGO games made by TT Games, Pro Game Guides](https://progameguides.com/lego/best-lego-games-made-by-tt-games/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Video games and digital play › Game industry › Developers and studios › First-party and publisher-owned studios*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license