Airbender creator says AAA Avatar RPG wasn’t ‘canceled,’ promises news in July

Despite a string of promising announcements, the Avatar series has had a rough year so far. After the upcoming film Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender leaked online, news broke that Paramount Games had canceled a AAA Avatar role-playing in the works at Saber Interactive (Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine).

Paramount and Saber Interactive announced that Avatar game back in 2024. Instead of incorporating established characters like Aang and Korra, the action-RPG was planned to feature a new story, with players assuming the role of a “never-before-seen Avatar.” Its story was set thousands of years in the past in an “unexplored area,” Paramount said at the time, letting players "be immersed in a vibrant world, master all four elements, [and] engage in dynamic combat alongside companions."

However, despite confirmation from Shawn Kittelsen, senior vice president and head of creative and production at Paramount Games Studio, that the game was canned, Avatar series co-creator Bryan Konietzko says otherwise.

In an Instagram post, Konietzko shared album cover art for The Last Airbender's soundtrack alongside a rant venting his frustration with Paramount.

“Despite what anyone without actual knowledge may be chirping about, that big video game—the premise of which I came up with—wasn’t 'canceled.'" Konietzko said. "Did it experience a big setback? Yep. These things are not easy (none of this is). Will it ever happen? Hopefully.” He added that there will be more news at San Diego Comic-Con, which runs July 23-26.

The untitled Avatar game's situation sounds similar to what happened with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin game announced in 2023. That version of the game was being developed by Black Forest Games, but after the Paramount Skydance merger in 2024, Paramount took the project back to the drawing board and is now working with PlatinumGames on a new version. Considering that even Konietzko calls the Avatar game's situation a "reset," we may still get that mysterious AAA Avatar game under Paramount Game Studio's new leadership.

While the conflicting narratives are a bit confusing, the situation makes a bit more sense when considering the chaotic state of Avatar rights holder Paramount Skydance Corp. The company is in the midst of acquiring Warner Bros., and as part of the deal, it is apparently considering selling Nickelodeon or Cartoon Network to appease European regulators concerned that the merger would over-consolidate children-focused entertainment at Paramount. Considering Avatar is a Nickelodeon property, it’s quite possible Paramount may sell its rights to the series in the near future. However, even before this situation arose, others associated with the show took shots at Paramount leadership.

In a social media post responding to the (maybe not quite) canceled game from Saber Interactive, Uncle Iroh voice actor Greg Baldwin described the executives at Paramount as “straight-up evil” and said that they’re “soulless bastards” who “have nothing but contempt for a show about grace and redemption and the struggle against fascism.” Considering that Paramount is now run by the Ellisons, a family with ties to the Trump administration that has arguably gone out of its way to move CBS to the right, this appraisal isn’t particularly surprising. Avatar - Aang: The Last Airbender was originally scheduled to be released in theaters at a much earlier date, but the company delayed it for a streaming release, which eventually led to the leak. The good news is that the movie is coming out this year: Oct. 9 on Paramount Plus, to be exact.

Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game, which was also previously abandoned by Paramount despite its extreme promise, is coming out even sooner, with a July 23 release date from publisher PM Studios. The untitled Avatar RPG may end up in a similar situation to the fighting game, where it falls into the hands of another creator who is allowed to finish it.