Ubisoft revealed Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora at its Ubisoft Forward E3 press conference. The company showed a cinematic trailer that featured air combat between soldiers and the dwellers of Pandora, exploration in a large, lush world, and several unique monsters, characters, and mounts. Based on the James Cameron movie, the game is powered by Ubisoft’s Snowdrop Engine. The game launches in 2022 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC, Stadia, and Luna.
Ubisoft says that the game will feature a “new, standalone story” outside of the existing Avatar universe, though the trailer appears to show some familiar faces. Players will take the role of Na’vi and explore the Western Frontier area of Pandora. The trailer contained multiple shots of the planet’s gorgeous environment, many of which will be familiar to moviegoers. The trailer also shows Pandorans riding on various creatures, suggesting that mounts may play a part in traveling the world.
The trailer was light on combat, but one segment did show what appears to be an invading human army landing on the lush alien planet. Characters take flight on various winged creatures and avoid enemy gunfire, which might suggest an air combat (or at least travel) mechanic. The trailer ended with a look at the gigantic world of Pandora, inviting excitement and exploration.
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora was first announced in 2017, according to Kotaku. While this isn’t the first video game to come out of the Avatar universe, fans are hoping it will at least be better than the critically panned James Cameron’s Avatar: The Game. Frontiers of Pandora will release in 2022.