Since its announcement back in 2017, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora hadn’t made any major headlines until being shown during Ubisoft’s E3 2021 press conference. At the event, the studio showed viewers a quick look at the game’s world through a prerendered trailer. The game has clearly been in the works for a while and is aiming for a 2022 release date, but it isn’t the only game set in the Avatar universe. James Cameron’s Avatar: The Game released alongside the film in 2009 and set out to tell a story about Pandora’s natives, the Na’vi.
Although Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora’s release date isn’t set-in-stone just yet, fans are wondering if Frontiers of Pandora is a sequel to Avatar: The Game or if it’s related in any meaningful way beyond its title. Despite the lack of substantial details known about Frontiers of Pandora, there are a few hints about the nature of its release that can help expectant fans understand how the game might tie in with the rest of the franchise.
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Ubisoft and Avatar have a relationship that precedes the Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora announcement. Avatar: The Game was developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft, so when Frontiers of Pandora was announced, it didn’t come entirely as a surprise that the studio would be publishing the IP once more. This time being developed by Massive Entertainment, the studio behind The Division, the game is a first-person action-adventure game that seems like it could be in line with Avatar: The Game’s general feel.
Avatar: The Game had some pretty standard third-person action gameplay that’s comparable to some of Ubisoft’s other IPs like Assassin’s Creed or Watch Dogs. The shift from third-person to first means that the gameplay loop of Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora might be in line with Ubisoft’s first-person titles like Far Cry or Rainbow Six Siege. That’s not to say that Frontiers of Pandora will be a shooter, although shooting might be an element of the gameplay. Alongside shooting mechanics, some other elements like stealth, exploration, and quest-based objectives might be included in the game. Those sorts of gameplay elements were present in Avatar: The Game, so the two could end up feeling like entries in the same series even if they aren’t officially linked.
From what it seems like so far, there’s nothing connecting Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora to Avatar: The Game other than their publisher and franchise. Avatar: The Game was a prequel to the 2009 film, set two years before the events of its plot. While essentially nothing is known about the story of Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora other than it will involve pieces of the human-Na’vi conflict, the game will most likely not share a lot of story elements with Avatar: The Game. It’s a possibility that Frontiers of Pandora might tie into the film release of Avatar 2, however, as it’s set to debut in December 2022. As such, the game’s relation to the film might be similar to Avatar: The Game’s relationship to the original 2009 film.
It’s clear that there’s more to come from the Avatar universe, but just how connected everything will be is still up in the air. It’s possible that Disney may make a statement saying that all non-film adaptations of the franchise are non-canonical in a similar fashion to what happened with the extended Star Wars universe, but this is purely speculation. After all, the opposite scenario can play out, with Disney saying that everything released so far is in the same canon. That would technically make Frontiers of Pandora related to Avatar: The Game, but if there’s any connecting tissue between the two other than that, it has yet to be seen.
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is expected to release in 2022 on PC, PS5, Stadia, Xbox Series X/S, and Luna.
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