The era of the bad movie tie-in is long gone. Now, we live in an age where games based on licensed IP are top sellers and critically acclaimed. Among these include the Batman Arkham franchise, The Witcher games, and Insomniac’s Spider-Man series. Hoping to join these ranks is Ubisoft’s Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora.
Ubisoft faced a unique challenge with Frontiers of Pandora. As an officially canon game within the Avatar universe, it required meticulous attention to detail and adherence to the established lore. Created in collaboration with Lightstorm Entertainment – James Cameron’s movie studio – it introduces a brand new, wholly original corner of Pandora known as the Western Frontier.
Set in parallel to Avatar: The Way of Water, the game explores a different area of Pandora and delves into the story behind a Na’vi, a native of Pandora held captive by invading humans. Frontiers of Pandora takes place at the same time as The Way of Water, necessitating early access to the next film’s scripts to ensure story integrity and accuracy.
Early access to what was coming in the next film helped refine the project’s direction and ensure it stayed lore-accurate to the time period it would be set in.
With the utmost attention to detail and creative dedication, Massive Entertainment, in collaboration with Lightstorm, has developed Frontiers of Pandora to be a completely authentic rendition of Pandora. A game where every detail adheres perfectly to James Cameron’s rulebook. A game in which the player would care about the world in which they live and fight for its plants, animals, and culture is exactly what Lightstorm wanted to bring to life.
The union between Ubisoft and Lightstorm could be the basis of something greater: a completely authentic rendition of Pandora in which you live out the next canon chapter of the Avatar story. Powered by the studio’s own Snowdrop engine, which has previously powered The Division games and is at the base of the upcoming Star Wars: Outlaws, it features a detailed rendition of Pandora. These differences set the stage for a brand-new story within the established universe that allows for a fresh take on existing themes and engaging gameplay opportunities.
