In February of this year, Maximum Entertainment revealed that it was working on a fighting game set in the Avatar: The Last Airbender universe. The game, which was initially planned to launch in early access next year, has been officially canceled, dashing the hopes of both Avatar and fighting game fans.
It’s a bit bizarre that there has yet to be a big-budget, well-received video game adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender. Aside from the fact that it’s one of the most beloved TV shows of all time, ATLA would be a great fit for a video game, especially since its lore dictates a cyclical, large-scale narrative. In other words, any adaptation of the source material would be given a lot of breathing room to tell its own original story, not hogtied to the plot elements of either ATLA or The Legend of Korra. Then there’s the bending-related lore itself, which obviously has a lot of exciting potential for gameplay systems, in a variety of different genres. All of this is to say that it’s a crying shame that no ambitious ATLA game exists in the world of modern gaming, and that needs to change soon.
Related
The Avatar Legends TTRPG is Perfect for Fans Waiting on Saber Interactive’s The Last Airbender Game
It’ll be quite a while before Saber Interactive releases its Avatar: The Last Airbender game, but there’s a solid alternative in the meantime.
Saber Interactive’s Avatar: The Last Airbender Game Needs to Come to Fruition
Saber’s Avatar Game Can’t Follow the Same Fate as Maximum Entertainment’s
A fighting game based on the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender is rich with promise. Franchises like Naruto and Demon Slayer have demonstrated what’s possible when TV or comic series with broad casts of characters come together in a fighting game, and ATLA could have joined them in this space. Characters from both Avatar and The Legend of Korra could have been fully realized in the interactive medium, with intriguing and fleshed-out mechanics designed around their canon abilities and personalities.
But there’s no use lamenting the past; Maximum Entertainment’s fighting game may have been great, but it’s back on the shelf, for the time being. More crucial is that controlling parties, such as Paramount (who owns the ATLA rights), not get bearish about future projects based on this IP. Indeed, previous ATLA games have been oddly restrained, with projects like 2023’s Avatar: The Last Airbender – Quest for Balance being remarkably low-budget and unambitious. Saber Interactive has referred to its Avatar game as “the biggest video game in franchise history,” and with that much confidence, it needs to deliver.
The Avatar: The Last Airbender RPG May Be Under More Pressure Than Ever
Saber’s ATLA game has been described as a AAA RPG—a prospect that should no doubt be exciting for fans of the franchise. But AAA RPGs aren’t exactly easy to make, not only because of their inherent narrative and mechanical complexity, but because of the expectations heaved upon them by gaming audiences. For better or worse, gamers are going to want Avatar: The Last Airbender‘s first big, modern video game to be firing on all cylinders, with industry-leading gameplay, writing, production value, and so on.
These expectations and standards existed before news of the ATLA fighting game being canceled, but they may be exacerbated now. At least with another Avatar game on the market, even if it’s in a completely different and more niche genre, Saber’s title wouldn’t have to be saddled with the weight of solely representing the IP in gaming. Now, it is.
This situation is strangely reminiscent of the leadup to Hogwarts Legacy‘s launch. For years, audiences had been asking for an ambitious and polished game set within the Harry Potter universe—it just seemed like a no-brainer. Thus, there was a lot riding on Hogwarts Legacy to bring the franchise into the rapidly-developing medium of gaming. And if the sales of that game are anything to go off, then it certainly met its goals. Hopefully, the same will be able to be said about this Avatar: The Last Airbender RPG.
- Release Date
- February 21, 2005
- Rating
- Studio
- Creator
- Number of Episodes
- Network