Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora surprised us at Ubisoft’s latest E3 showcase with a first look into the lush world of Pandora. While this announcement was unexpected for some, Ubisoft had already announced the project in early 2017 in a YouTube video. This clip revealed a partnership between Massive Entertainment (The Division developers), Lightstorm Entertainment (James Cameron’s studio), and Fox Interactive (Fox’s game division that has been defunct for 18 years).
After four years of whispers, the game was reintroduced with Fox no longer involved since Disney acquired the company. We now wait patiently for official gameplay to arrive. Until then, here’s everything we know about Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, including the latest information on its release date, gameplay, story, setting and more.
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora release date
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora has been delayed until the next fiscal year, which begins April 2023 and ends March 2024. Skull and Bones was also recently delayed into the same fiscal year window, which is causing many to question what exactly is going on at Ubisoft.
Recent leaks suggested that Ubisoft's open-world game, which takes place in the world of the beloved Avatar franchise, would be launching on November 18. While that could have been the initial plan, especially since the same person correctly leaked Skull and Bones' release date (before it got delayed twice), it's clearly not the case any longer.
Ubisoft confirmed that it will be attending Gamescom, which runs from August 24 to August 28. This is where the company is expected to show off Skull & Bones and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, while EA should do the same with Need For Speed. It would be a little surprising for Ubisoft to drop two prominent games so close to one another, but after nine years in development it is likely thrilled to get Skull & Bones shipped.
Other Ubisoft titles set to launch in 2022 are Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope and potentially Skull and Bones, which could launch anywhere between 2022 and 2023 according to a Ubisoft earning’s report. It’s hard to say when Frontiers of Pandora will launch, but we predict it will receive a gameplay trailer during E3 2022 and launch in late 2022 or early 2023.
At the start of the year, Ubisoft announced that Rainbow Six: Extraction would be coming to Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass. Ubisoft+ is also launching on Xbox in the future, so it's possible we'll see more of Frontiers of Pandora at an Xbox event (which might happen in June) or a Ubisoft Forward in the coming months.
With the official Avatar 2: The Way of Water trailer now out, we could be looking at a close launch for the film and game. The film will be out in theatres this December, and we might see the game come out shortly after. Ubisoft is seemingly not appearing at Summer Games Fest, so there's a chance we won't see Frontiers of Pandora for a little while.
There's also an Avatar mobile game called Avatar: Reckoning, which is set to launch at some point in 2022. It's going to be some form of shooter with massive multiplayer online elements, but otherwise, we know very little about it.
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora gameplay
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora has not received a gameplay demonstration or trailer as of yet, but there are a few hints from its first-look trailer. For example, much of that cutscene happens in a first-person perspective, which means it might be similar to Far Cry. Players could be exploring the dangerous jungles of Pandora while dealing with the Resources Development Administration (RDA) forces to prevent them from destroying the sanctity of the moon’s wildlife.
As the game is set to launch exclusively on next-gen consoles and PC, we can expect it to take full advantage of the technology and present a stunning world with lightning fast load times. We also know the game will be “an immersive, open world experience,” according to Ubisoft’s website.
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora story
There’s not much known about Avatar: Frontier of Pandora’s narrative. When the game was originally announced, no footage or information regarding a theme or tone was revealed. Fans began to theorize that the game and Avatar 2 film would correlate, with some sort of story connection bridging the two. It’s still possible that both will share a promotion run, or be released at around the same time.
However, Ubisoft’s website claims that the game will take players throughout the Western Frontier, which is a “never-before-seen part of Pandora.” This website also claims that it will be “a living and reactive world inhabited by unique creatures and new characters.” It also refers to the game as a “standalone story,” which probably means it won’t be tied to the second film in a significant way. It’s even possible that players will be able to create their own character, as our character is simply referred to as a “Na’vi” rather than given a specific name.
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora setting
James Cameron’s Avatar series takes place on Pandora, a lush moon orbiting the gas giant Polyphemus. In Ubisoft’s Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, players will explore the Western Frontier. This is a side of the moon that has not been shown before, which means Massive Entertainment won’t be tied down by iconic locations from the film. The developers will still be able to utilize the wildlife and foliage of Pandora to craft something memorable, but hopefully it won’t get too fanservicey with its references and callbacks.
As far as what to expect while exploring the moon, there could be RDA bases lined across each area in a region, and the player will have to infiltrate them to free the sector from the military’s influence. I'd kind of be the opposite of Far Cry where players might even explore environments to protect wildlife from hunters.
When building this world, Massive Entertainment needs to make sure players aren’t stuck exploring jungles over and over. Pandora needs to be diversified with unique biomes and bizarre weather patterns to make this environment feel as stunning as it does in the film.
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora PC requirements
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora has no PC requirements as of yet, but by looking at one of Ubisoft’s biggest modern games, we can get a rough idea of what the requirements could be. Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla is Ubisoft’s most visually stunning game yet, and its minimum requirements on low are Windows 10, Intel i5-4460 or AMD Ryzen 3 1200 CPU, Nvidia GTX 960 or AMD Radeon R9 380 GPU, 8GB RAM and 50GB of hard drive space.
Its recommended requirements for 30fps on high are Windows 10, Intel i7-4790 or AMD Ryzen 5 1600 CPU, Nvidia GTX 1060 or AMD Radeon RX 570 GPU, 8GB RAM and 50GB of SSD space. And its recommended requirements for 60fps on high are Intel i7-6700 or AMD Ryzen 7 1700, Nvidia GTX 1080 or AMD Vega 64, 8GB of RAM and 50GB of SSD space.
As Frontiers of Pandora will be launching on next-gen consoles, it’s probably safe to assume that its requirements will be even higher than this. If your PC can’t handle Valhalla, it probably can’t handle this Avatar game.
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora season pass
We don’t know much about Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, but since it’s a single-player game from Ubisoft, we can expect a season pass. Nearly all of Ubisoft’s latest releases have a season pass coupled with them, including Far Cry 6, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Immortals Fenyx Rising, The Division 2 and Watch Dogs: Legion.
It’s unlikely that Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora will be the exception, so expect Ubisoft to reveal a season pass for the game as we get closer to its launch.
