The pre-alpha footage trailer for Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game has got fans of the enormously popular Avatar the Last Airbender animated series excited, but there are questions over exactly what type of game fans can expect, and who’s actually developing it.
Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game is described as being “rooted in the spirit of elemental mastery.” Its official blurb continues: “Designed for both newcomers and veterans, it channels the energy of classic fighting games while breaking new ground in movement, style, and combat expression. Built with a focus on fluidity, responsiveness, and online integrity, the game invites players to discover what it truly means to fight with purpose. Hand-drawn in 2D, it is crafted to preserve the style and expressive animation of the original series.”
12 playable characters are expected at launch, with “many more” released via a seasonal model. There are selectable support characters who “influence your fighting style and grant special moves.” The unique “Flow System” provides “movement centric” gameplay. There’s a single-player “campaign” with an original narrative, combo trials, a gallery mode, and “best in class” netcode and crossplay.
Additional features and mechanics will be announced soon, and Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game is a working title, so expect the name to change. There’s no release date, but the release window is set for summer 2026 on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, Nintendo Switch 2 and PC via Steam, where you can wishlist the game.
According to the trailer and its Steam page, Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game is developed and published by the little known Gameplay Group International. A recent GamesBeat article pulled back the curtain on this newly-formed studio, whose business model appears to be reviving canceled games.
That is, according to GB, Gameplay Group International acquires and reimagines “commercially unrealized games.” It was founded by Victor Lugo, who was for a time lead designer at Iron Galaxy working on Killer Instinct, and Philip Mayes, who was managing director of Australian games company Mighty Kingdom, which has a number of licensed games under its belt.
Gameplay Group International, GB said it identifies games “with untapped potential and giving them a second life, refining gameplay and delivering polished, high-quality experiences for players worldwide. It’s giving games a second life.”
Its initial slate is made up of fighting games. “I’ve long been frustrated seeing good games canceled or unable to find their audience,” Lugo said.
“While not all games can be saved, we look for diamonds in the rough and leverage our global network to bring them to completion, creating a win for everyone,” Mayes added. “Developers get to see their vision realised, and players get to play games they would otherwise have missed.”
Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game fits the profile. So what happened to it? It turns out it was in the works at Swedish firm Maximum Entertainment for some time before it was quietly canceled last year, according to a financial report. The company never responded to IGN’s request for comment.
You might remember Maximum Entertainment for its publishing label, Modus Games, abruptly ceasing development on 2D fighting game Them’s Fightin’ Herds, sparking a backlash from players. Maximum Entertainment has had a torrid time of it lately, with financial problems, executive resignations, and legal action against former board members.
Some relatively well known fighting game developers worked at Maximum Entertainment while it was developing this Avatar fighting game. The most high profile is Mike Zaimont, who was design director on fighting game Skullgirls. Zaimont, now design director at Maximum Entertainment, was previously accused of sexual harassment while boss of Lab Zero Games. He went on to work on Diesel Legacy: The Brazen Age, a 2v2 indie fighter from Modus Games (the same publisher of Them’s Fightin’ Herds). Gameplay Group International is now the publisher of Diesel Legacy and Them’s Fightin’ Herds, as well as Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game.
The upshot is Gameplay Group International has taken the Avatar fighting game Maximum Entertainment was working on and is trying to make a success of it. But there are still questions over the scope of the project. In the GB article, Mayes said GGI had two projects underway and could finance them, but over time it would need a cash injection. The hope, of course, is that Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game actually comes out this time and that it is good.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].
