Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora was one of the biggest surprises at Ubisoft's E3 2021 conference. The game was confirmed to be in development for many years, with little to no news following the announcement of its existence. Ubisoft managed to surprise a lot of people by showing off the first trailer for Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, providing a taste of what it would be doing with the Avatar franchise, and the capabilities of its new Snowdrop engine. What's been revealed looks exciting enough, and it could have even bigger implications for the Avatar franchise.
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is in a unique position. Not only will it be the first Avatar game in over a decade, but it will also be the first major piece of Avatar media in a very long time. After so many years out of the public eye, it may seem like the franchise was a bit of a fluke. It's hard to even call Avatar a franchise when it only has a couple of pieces of media to it, especially when franchises like Star Wars or the Marvel Cinematic Universe have a near constant stream of content. Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora has an opportunity to turn that perception around, and it can do it in more ways than one.
Bringing Avatar Out Of The Shadows
When the first Avatar film released over ten years ago, it took the world by storm in a way that had hardly been seen before. It combined innovations in filmmaking with a sensational story, and managed to become the highest grossing film for almost ten consecutive years. After all of that success, though, the franchise faded into the background. A number of Avatar sequels were planned shortly after the first film's success, but filming limitations at the time forced them to be pushed back by several years. With the exception of a new themed land in Disney World's Animal Kingdom, little else has come from Avatar.
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora has the chance to reintroduce a lot of people to the Avatar franchise in a big way. The game already seems as technically impressive as the Avatar film, and it seems to be a big priority for Ubisoft moving forward. If Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora really sticks the landing, it could prove that the Avatar franchise still has some supporters.
Reinforcing Avatar's Success
The success of the first Avatar film cannot be overstated. The film made so much money that it took Avengers: Endgame, the MCU's culmination of ten-plus years of work, to barely surpass its financial success. If Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora mimics even a fraction of that success in the video game industry, it would greatly reinforce the fact that the Avatar franchise brings in a lot of money. Especially if it rivals other video game franchises that have been around for longer than Avatar, Frontiers of Pandora would really legitimize the Avatar franchise as a whole.
Foreshadowing The Avatar Sequels
One of the biggest issues with the Avatar franchise is how simultaneously absent and ambitious it has been. While the first film came out what seems like a lifetime ago, four other sequels have been in development since then. The next two films, rumored to be titled Avatar: The Way of Water and Avatar: The Seed Bearer, are coming sooner than later.
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora has the opportunity to tie into the upcoming Avatar films and serve as a preview. If the game turns out to be a quality release, it could show that the films are being produced with a similar quality, and possibly quell the fears of those worried about an underwhelming return to the franchise.
The Avatar franchise managed to cement itself into pop culture with just one film, and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora has a chance to show gamers exactly why it's so wildly successful. Although the franchise has been dormant for a concerning amount of time, it appears that it's getting ready to come back in a big way. It's still going to be a while before Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora or Avatar 2 release, but until then things are looking optimistic.
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is expected to release in 2022 on Luna, PC, PS5, Stadia, and Xbox Series X/S.