The new Avatar: The Last Airbender game sounds super ambitious

The cycle of death and rebirth continues in the larger world of the Avatar. Paramount Game Studios and Saber Interactive announced a new AAA title based on the beloved Nickelodeon animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra on Monday. Instead of incorporating established characters like Aang and Korra, the action-RPG title will feature a new story, with players assuming the role of a “never-before-seen Avatar.”

The new Avatar game is being developed for Windows PC and consoles. Its story will take place thousands of the years in the past in an “unexplored area,” a release said. According to the developers, “players can expect to be immersed in a vibrant world, master all four elements, engage in dynamic combat alongside companions,” and just generally experience some of the ups and downs that can come with the weighty responsibility of being the Avatar.

Paramount Game Studios and Saber Interactive are the development team behind Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2. According to the release, the story for the new Avatar title was created in “close collaboration with Avatar Studios,” a division of Nickelodeon Animation Studio headed by the original franchise creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko.

So far, those are all the details we have. Fans will have to wait to see how the team pulls this vision off. Adaptations of the beloved Nickelodeon cartoon have been a dime a dozen and not all have been a hit. Whether it’s the floundering movie from M. Night Shyamalan or the divisive Avatar: The Last Airbender – Quest for Balance game, Avatar fans know better than to get their hopes up. But hey, at least there are signs of change! Netflix’s ongoing live-action TV adaptation was greenlit for a second season and the recent Avatar and Fortnite collab was pretty slick as well.

So while a new Avatar game might prompt some concerns, it’s times like this when I turn to a bit of wisdom from Uncle Iroh: “Destiny is a funny thing. You never know how things are going to work out.”