Maximum Games has entered into a partnership with Paramount Consumer Products to develop a competitive multiplayer fighting game set in the universe of Avatar: The Last Airbender, the company announced. It will launch in Early Access in 2025. A developer and platforms were not announced. Watch the announcement video below.
(Announcement starts at 12:38.)
https://piped.video/watch?v=cwwNMXmxBjA
(Alternatively at youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwwNMXmxBjA)
This could be great - but only if they manage to make environments an integral part of the combat system. It’s such an important aspect of bending in the universe and could make for interesting strategies as long as the map design is good.
But it will probably be a cash grab like the last game.
A tactics game like Desperados, or XCOM would be great. But “competitive” multiplayer just sounds way too much like jumping on the bandwagon.
I could see that too! Though there’s definitely potential in competitive multiplayer. Imagine a game with the tactical complexity of CS:GO, and with high-intensity combat mostly dependent on good understanding of the map environment.
Still not the thing what I think people like about ATLA, though. Multiplayer simply can’t convey narrative.
A game with a great narrative in the ATLA universe would be amazing, but it’s not the only thing that can work. The bending system has incredible potential for deep and complex combat. Building a great competitive multiplayer experience around that doesn’t prevent anyone from also building a great narrative game in the same universe.