Avatar: The Last Airbender Fighting Game Axed by Maximum Entertainment
The Corporation's Failed Promise in the Fighting Game Realm
Introduction to the Corporation's Gaming Ventures
The corporation has always been at the forefront of the gaming industry, with various projects in the pipeline. Their foray into licensed fighting games seemed promising initially, especially with the announcement of the Avatar: The Last Airbender fighting game. This was set to be one of their major new projects for 2024, with high hopes attached to it.Christina Seelye, the CEO, expressed great excitement when she announced the partnership with Paramount Consumer Products to develop this competitive multiplayer fighting game. She promised that there would be more to share about the game in the future and gave it a 2025 early access launch window. But as it turns out, the future of this game now seems uncertain.
The Impact of Financial Reports on the Game
In the recent quarterly financial report, the corporation revealed some concerning figures. Their net sales were down by 32% year over year for the quarter, while operating expenses rose by about 35%. This included a write-down for canceled projects and underperforming launch titles. Among them were the Avatar fighting game and at least two other projects.The financial report reads, "The write-down is a result of impairment test during the quarter on games and includes canceled projects and underperforming launched titles. Of the 13.2 MEUR write-down amount, 9 MEUR is for canceled titles like Mudfest, Project Velos, and Avatar: The Last Airbender." This indicates the severity of the situation and raises questions about the future of the gaming projects.
The Mystery of the Avatar Game
No other mention is made in the reports about the popular animated series featuring Aang, Katara, Sokka, Zuko, Toph, and other memorable characters that could have made an interesting fighting game roster. There is no information about what kind of game it would have been, as no footage was ever shown.Maximum described it as a "competitive multiplayer fighting game," which is an odd way to talk about a traditional fighter. This leaves a lot of questions unanswered about what the Avatar game would have looked like. It could have been a traditional 2D or 3D fighter, or it might have dipped more into the arena fighter category. With a focus on competitive gameplay, it could have been inspired by other titles like Naruto to Boruto: Shinobi Striker and Dissidia Final Fantasy NT to expand into team-based content.
Fan Reactions and Past Issues
Many fighting game fans were wary about the initial announcement due to the corporation's past involvement. Just months before the reveal, Maximum had ended active development and canceled the Story Mode promised for Them's Fightin' Herds, which led to backlash and calls for refunds.It's important to note that this Story Mode was a funded stretch goal for Them's Fightin' Herds' crowdfunding campaign years before Maximum was involved. The corporation then laid off the entire development team at Mane6 before the final two DLC characters were completed. This led to the game's last fighters being released in a busted state that took months to "fix," and even then, not all the issues were patched.
The Need for a Good Avatar Game
Avatar is a series that deserves good video games and good fighting games. However, it has had a surprisingly rough track record outside of maybe the Platinum Legend of Korra game, which is no longer available for purchase. There is also Avatar: The Last Airbender – The Burning Earth, which lives on with a claim to fame simply because players could unlock all 1,000 achievement points in mere minutes on the Xbox 360.Despite this setback, all hope is not lost. There are other Avatar-related projects in the works, such as the AAA action-RPG by Saber Interactive. And with the current online leaks and the Netflix live-action series, there is still a chance for the Avatar franchise to shine in the gaming world.
