LeBron James calls on fans to create ‘Space Jam’ game for Xbox

The sequel to the 1996 live-action/animated sports comedy is tied to Microsoft's new coding-education campaign

Dec 14, 2020

Bugs Bunny and LeBron James are calling on fans to help create an Xbox game inspired by their latest movie, Space Jam: A New Legacy.

The sequel to the 1996 live-action/animated sports comedy is tied to Microsoft’s new coding-education campaign, in which fans are given the chance to create an original Xbox arcade-style video game.

Two winners will be selected and their ideas will appear in a game for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members next year, per microsoft.com.The prize package also includes signed memorabilia from James, a personalized Xbox Series S gaming system, a Space Jam: A New Legacy VIP pack, and a private screening of the film. Additionally, the winners will receive a virtual coding workshop for their local community via Microsoft.

“[W]e’re on the hunt for the best fan-submitted video game ideas—the loonier, the better! Starting December 14 through December 30, fans ages 14 and up will be able to submit the game ideas they think will be a slam dunk at the official contest website. All you have to do is review the Official Rules, select the gaming genre of your choosing using a key image and describe your game idea in less than 500 words,” wrote Sarah Bond, Corporate Vice President of Gaming Partnerships & Ecosystem at Microsoft, on the Xbox news site.

Here’s the summary of the upcoming film and tie-in with Microsoft:

In this film, basketball champion and global icon LeBron James goes on an epic adventure alongside timeless Tune Bugs Bunny. When James and his young son Dom – who dreams of being a video game developer – are trapped in a digital space by a rogue AI, James must get them home safe by leading Bugs, Lola Bunny and the whole gang of notoriously undisciplined Looney Tunes to victory over the AI’s digitized champions on the court: a powered-up roster of basketball stars as you’ve never seen them before.

“What I love about these type of partnerships is I feel like it’s taking something that may seem daunting, unattainable and scary and packaging it into a really fun format,” says Jessica Wicklund, a marketing events manager for Microsoft Stores.

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“We have been asked by learners of all ages around the world for fun and engaging learn-to-code content,” says Margaret Price, a principal strategist at Microsoft. “With partnerships like ‘Space Jam: A New Legacy’ (and others like ‘Wonder Woman 1984’ and NASA) to draw a new diverse generation of potential talent into learning these critical and important skills. We start with teaching how to code. But we also teach machine learning and data science through some of these lessons.”

Space Jam: A New Legacy is set for release by Warner Bros. in summer 2021 on HBO Max.

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