UPDATE
Do you think this game could be something special? Or do you feel this will be another “cash grab” to bank off what the franchise is doing currently? Let us know below!
ORIGINAL STORY
If you were to ask anyone what one of the most influential animated series of the 2000s was, they’d likely tell you Avatar The Last Airbender. Why? This entirely new world crafted many great characters, storylines, and action sequences into a three-season epic that is still revered today. In fact, it’s so revered that Netflix is getting ready to launch their live-action interpretation of the first season. Whether it goes well or not is up for debate, but that’s not what we’re here to focus on. We are here to note that Maximum Games revealed in a special “Roadmap” video that they’re working with Paramount to help develop a “Multiplayer Fighting Game” focused on the series.
There’s not much information to go on, but the team said it’ll come out in 2025, and Early Access will happen at the beginning of next year. You can see the announcement below:
This announcement isn’t surprising for a singular reason: many companies have been making fighting games based on their beloved franchises over the last several years. In fact, characters from Avatar The Last Airbender and its sequel series appeared in Nickelodeon All-Stars Brawl 1&2, both of which did well with fans. So, with the success of those titles and the upcoming live-action series, Paramount likely thought they could “piggyback off things” by having a fighting game featuring the series characters alone.
The good news is that if Maximum Games can pull this off, they’ll have plenty of characters to not just choose from but also have fun with. The obvious characters we’ll get in the game include Aang, Katara, Sokka, Zuko, and Toph. After all, they are “Team Avatar”.
But you can also throw in characters like Azula, Iroh, Ozai, General Zhao, Jet, King Bumi, Mai, Tai Lee, and so on. They have a diverse cast of characters to use, and if they tailor them right, they could each play differently.
It really can’t be overstated how wonderful the original series was. This came during a time when 2D animation was still “at its peak” and allowed to do things that many TV and streaming networks today wouldn’t allow to happen for various reasons. They focused on deep storytelling and attempted to appeal to kids and teens on multiple levels. They didn’t beat them over the head with certain things; they let the story and characters resonate with them and allowed the viewers to get the deeper meanings held within.
We’ll have to wait and see if the game can live up to that legacy.