It’s official: the Lego Astro Bot set is real, and it will be part of Lego’s controversial gift with purchase (or GWP) promotion. The set looks every bit as spectacular as it did in the leaks, which only makes it more disappointing that this one won’t be widely available.
The Lego Store page for the Astro Bot set appeared earlier today, offering a much better look at the little robot. The 18+ set includes 276 pieces, letting you build an 8-inch tall figure with “dynamic posing options.” Astro Bot’s eyes are also swappable, so you can easily change its expression.
You’d typically expect a set of this size to be around $30-$40 USD, but you’ll likely have to spend a lot more than that to pick this one up. While the store page confirms that this is a GWP set, it doesn’t offer any details on the promotion. Rumors have alternately suggested that it’ll be tied to either a purchase of the $180 Lego PlayStation set, or available with a $150 purchase of any items from the Lego Store.
The Lego Astro Bot and PlayStation set are both set to launch on October 4 (or October 1 for members of the free Lego Insider program), so they’re clearly meant as two parts of the same PlayStation nostalgia-fest.
Astro Bot itself has become something of a mascot for PlayStation nostalgia in general, as the 2024 Astro Bot game served as a celebration of all the brand’s greatest games. If you’re cynical, you could equally call it a graveyard for those games – certainly, we ain’t getting another Ape Escape anytime soon – but it’s tough to be too down on the little bot when it’s this cute and the games it’s in are this good.
The Lego PlayStation set itself is filled with delightful hidden secrets, including swappable dioramas of Gran Turismo and Ape Escape to put under the disc drive lid. I don’t know how the final build will stand up against the best Lego sets, but the Lego Game Boy quickly became one of my favorite sets of all time, so the pedigree for console recreations is very good.
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