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Aang and the gang, as well as the Avatar franchise at large, have had a relatively solid track run in expanding to other mediums–books, comics, spinoffs like Korra, and even Netflix’s live-action show. That’s something Paramount is keen to continue going as it makes plans to spin up multiple new continuations of the franchise, with a dedicated studio built around a series of new movie projects and more in the works. But one area Avatar‘s never managed to crack, despite a few attempts, is video games… and it’s not going to stop trying any time soon.
Revealed through IGN this morning, Paramount and the aforementioned bending-dedicated studio Avatar Studios has confirmed that it is teaming up with Space Marine II developer Saber Interactive to work on a new, large-scale game set in the Avatar universe. The game, an action-RPG, will be set in what is now being referred to as the “Avatar Legends” universe, and take place thousands of years before the events of The Last Airbender and Legend of Korra. Players will inhabit the role of the Avatar, one previously unseen in any prior Avatar material, as they get ready to “master all four elements, engage in dynamic combat alongside companions, and experience the challenges and decisions that come with being the keeper of balance in the world,” according to a statement from Paramount and Saber.
It’s not the only Avatar gaming project that’s come out of the post-Avatar studios push to do more with the franchise–earlier this year, Maximum Entertainment confirmed it was working on an Avatar fighting game, and both Last Airbender and Korra have received significant collaborations with Epic’s battle royale shooter Fortnite this year, bringing characters, locations, and bending abilities to the game. But that that Fortnite crossover is arguably the most success the franchise has ever seen in the gaming space says a lot to Avatar‘s decidedly rough history with the medium over the last two decades.
The franchise has seen several infamous flops over the years, including 2007’s The Burning Earth–infamous among Xbox gamerscore aficianados for being able to get its complete achievements list completed in just a matter of minutes, and that being about as much value as you could get out of the game at all–and Platinum’s awkward Legend of Korra action game in 2014. Last year saw the release of the first significant push to bring Avatar back to games in Quest for Balance, which was slated for clunky design, dodgy graphics, and a whole host of technical issues upon launch. Fingers crossed this time will be the charm.
Saber’s Avatar game is currently set for release on both PC and consoles with an undisclosed release date.
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