Key Notes
- LEGO Digital Play has acquired ForthStar, bringing around 30 mobile developers into its growing games operation.
- Paul Gouge becomes head of games across the buyer, while Alex Rigby continues to lead the Manchester studio.
- The acquisition’s price and details of ForthStar’s first LEGO project have not been disclosed.
LEGO Digital Play has bought ForthStar, the Manchester mobile studio founded by the creators of Golf Clash. The acquisition brings an experienced free-to-play team into LEGO’s growing games operation, with co-founder Paul Gouge taking a wider leadership role.
GamesBeat reported the deal following interviews with Gouge, fellow founder Alex Rigby and LEGO Digital Play president Aaron Loeb. Financial terms were not disclosed, and the companies have not announced ForthStar’s first LEGO game.
The Golf Clash Team Gets a New Brief
ForthStar adds around 30 people to an operation that already employed slightly more than 100, primarily in London and Denmark, according to GamesBeat. Its team will remain in Manchester. Gouge becomes head of games across LEGO Digital Play, while Rigby continues to lead ForthStar.
The attraction goes beyond a recognizable studio name. Gouge and Rigby built Playdemic, whose Golf Clash became an established mobile business before EA bought the developer from Warner Bros. in 2021. Their new brief is to bring that experience of building and operating games to LEGO-branded projects. Gouge told GamesBeat that LEGO’s success on PC and consoles leaves an opportunity to build its mobile presence.
ForthStar’s own history dates its establishment to 2023. The studio set out to make free-to-play games with broad appeal, designed for people to return to over several years. Before the acquisition, it described $10 million of backing from its founders and Griffin Gaming Partners.
LEGO Digital Play Is a Separate Operation
The buyer should not be confused with the LEGO Group’s existing game partnerships. LEGO Holding established LEGO Digital Play in February 2025 as an independently operating business tasked with developing new digital experiences. KIRKBI had set up LEGO Holding the previous month to bring its LEGO-branded activities under one governance structure.
At that point, the company explicitly said the LEGO Group would continue investing in its established partnerships, including LEGO Fortnite. Buying ForthStar therefore expands a distinct development organization; it does not announce a transfer of Fortnite or the console LEGO catalog to the new team.
Loeb’s appointment also brought extensive mobile experience. KIRKBI’s original announcement identifies his previous roles at Scopely and FoxNext Games, including work overseeing pipelines associated with Monopoly Go and Marvel Strike Force. The organization was built around making games, with the LEGO brand as its starting point.
No Game or Launch Date Announced Yet
The immediate news is the addition of a team and leadership, rather than a game players can download. Genre, supported devices, monetization and release timing for ForthStar’s LEGO work remain undisclosed.
That distinction matters in a mobile market where an early announcement can precede a release by years. We recently covered the end of Ratchet & Clank: Ranger Rumble’s development after regional testing. LEGO’s deal is at the opposite end of that process: committing resources to projects that still need to be revealed and find their audience.
