Avatar: The Last Airbender series to get its ‘biggest video game’ yet

By Carli Velocci Published October 3, 2024

The Avatar universe is set to get “the biggest video game in franchise history” — an AAA RPG where players will be introduced to a whole new Avatar.

IGN reported Thursday that Paramount Game Studios and Saber Interactive are working on the game for both PC and console that will have the players take on the role of a new Avatar in an original story. It’s being made in conjunction with Avatar Studios, the company founded in 2021 by Avatar: The Last Airbender co-creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko to expand the universe into other media.

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While the game will feature all-new story elements and characters, Paramount and Saber told IGN that it’ll still be familiar to players. Players will have to master all four elements, engage in fights with companions, and “experience the challenges and decisions that come with being the keeper of balance in the world.”

Saber’s catalog is full of licensed games. Earlier this month, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, from Saber developers, launched to critical acclaim. The day following release, publisher Focus Entertainment revealed that around 2 million players have logged on. Other games Saber is developing include one based on John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando, A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead, and continued development on a Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remake.

“At Saber, we are all truly fans of the IP we work with,” said Josh Austin, head of IP development and licensing at Saber Interactive. “Our team members are some of the most devoted, passionate creatives out there and it’s an honor to join forces with Avatar Studios and Paramount Games to further expand the Avatar Legends universe in video games.

This isn’t the first attempt at bringing the Avatar universe to video games, although it is the biggest. There have been video game adaptations since 2006, and with the series’ mostly consistent popularity, there have been many others even recently. Avatar Generations was a mobile turn-based RPG from Square Enix that shut down around a year after it launched in 2023. There’s also an Avatar: The Last Airbender fighting game in the works at Maximum Games set to release in early access next year.

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Contributor, Games

Carli is a technology, culture, and games editor and journalist. They were the Gaming Lead and Copy Chief at Windows Central…

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Even HBO’s The Last of Us can’t fully master the video game adaptation

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There's a pretty good chance that your favorite video game will be made into a movie or TV show.

Thanks in no small part to efforts by PlayStation Productions and the success of movies like Sonic the Hedgehog and TV shows like Arcane, there will only be more adaptations of your favorite video games coming. We’ve come to a sort-of apex with The Last of Us on HBO, a prestige TV take on one of gaming's most celebrated titles. It has legitimate stars, a big budget, Chernobyl’s showrunner at the helm, and is raking in viewers. Only three episodes have aired at the time of this writing, but it’s already poised for success, both in terms of viewership and critical accolades.

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Avatar: Generations reemerges with new release window, preregistration

Free-to-play Avatar: The Last Airbender mobile RPG Avatar: Generations has reemerged under a new publisher, as the game now has an early 2023 release window and is available for pre-registration on Android.
Avatar: Generations is a turned-based RPG like Marvel Strike Force or Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes that lets fans play through the stories of various Team Avatars. At launch, the focus is on Avatar: The Last Airbender's story, although the press release for this announcement teased that Avatar: Generations will eventually get updates that feature The Legend of Korra stories and characters, as well as never-before-seen Avatars.
Avatar Generations - Official Gameplay Trailer - Coming Soon to Mobile!
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Interestingly, this announcement also confirms that Avatar: Generations publisher is now Crystal Dynamics -- Eidos Entertainment, a subsidiary of Embracer Group. Avatar: Generations was initially announced by Square Enix last year, but it appears that the Square Enix London Mobile team that was handling the game was part of Square Enix's western studio sale to Embracer Group last summer.
Even though Embracer Group shut down Onoma, a mobile studio it acquired from Square Enix, it still seems interested in Avatar: Generations, likely due to its existing relationship with Nickelodeon and the fact that Avatar: The Last Airbender is a well-known IP. Avatar: Generations is developed by Navigator Games.
Avatar: Generations will launch on iOS and Android in early 2023.

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Square Enix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender mobile game soft-launches today

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Avatar: Generations is being developed by Canada-based studio Navigator Games, and it expands upon the Avatar franchise and puts players in the shoes of Aang, Katara, Sokka, and other fan-favorite characters as they travel around the world to help Aang fulfill his destiny of mastering all four elements and being the Avatar. As the title suggests, the game will have expansions focusing on Avatar Kyoshi, Roku, Korra, and others across the timelines of the Four Nations.