LEGO Universe, also known as "LU" by players, launched a free to play version in the summer of 2011. It allowed players to download and play through the first two worlds of the game, Venture Explorer and Avant Gardens, for absolutely no cost and no time restrictions. The free trial allowed players to try the game (without some of the benefits, including chatting), and purchase it whenever they felt like (to get the full experience). Low sales was the reason for the formation of a free trial.