The planned mobile Avatar game is moving forward with FoxNext with a target roll out before James Cameron’s sequel hits theaters. The newly established immersive entertainment unit from Fox took over the game’s original maker, Aftershock — an entity spun off from Kabam last December reportedly for $800 million. During Aftershock’s stint with Kabam, they were credited with creating Marvel Contest of Champions and The Hobbit: Kingdoms of Middle-earth for the interactive entertainment company. The acquisition will have Aftershock operating as a sub-department of the FoxNext Games division.
The Avatar mobile game has already been in development at Aftershock for quite some time. Aftershock even has had talks with Fox and Cameron’s own Lightstorm Entertainment for the multiplayer mobile strategy game based on the famed sci-fiction film. However, with the recent kerfuffle in Kabam, many wondered whether the project will still push forward or not.
Now, FoxNext president Salil Mehta offers some updates regarding the progress of developing the game in a statement picked up by THR.
“We are evaluating rollout but believe it will come out before the sequels. It’s an incredible way for many global fans to experience the world of Pandora.”
Further, he also said that once the Avatar game has rolled out, they will use it as a launching pad for other movie properties that have the potential to translate well as a game franchise.
“We see this interactive storytelling as a way to potentially launch new franchises, as well as expand existing Fox properties. We have a lot of IP we are looking to bring to Aftershock. Technology is moving incredibly rapidly, and we are trying to stay on top of it and be able to exploit it and bring opportunities to creative storytellers.”
Releasing an Avatar-themed game before the sequel hits theaters would be a clever business move for Fox. It will keep the interest going for the franchise while the film is still in production. Some have said that the Cameron sequels may have been a couple of years late from coming with interest in it has significantly decreased over the last few years. But slowly building the hype again via other mediums like a game and the recently opened Disney-themed park will help people get reintroduced to Avatar again.
21st Century Fox appears to be pushing for interactive entertainment recently with FoxNext. On top of the aforementioned Avatar mobile game, an upcoming Planet of the Apes-themed experience in connection with release of War for the Planet of the Apes is also in production under its subdivision, FoxNext VR. A separate subdivision in FoxNext Destinations, meanwhile, is said to be developing a multiplayer VR game based on the Alien franchise.
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