Hot on the heels of the latest installment in James Cameron’s sci-fi film series, Ubisoft will soon be releasing an open-world RPG game set between the first Avatar film and its sequel, The Way of Water. The game is called Frontiers of Pandora and is actually the publisher’s second Avatar game. Here’s everything you need to know about Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, from story to gameplay to release date.

Release date and price

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora will be released on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X & S, and PC on December 7, 2023 for $70. By pre-ordering any edition of the game, players will receive the Child of Two Worlds cosmetic pack, which includes exclusive outfits and weapon skins. The game is also available as part of Ubisoft+, which costs $15 per month.

The Gold Edition costs $120 and includes a steelbook case, bonus missions, character and Ikran cosmetics, and access to two DLC expansions planned for 2024. The Ultimate Edition, available digitally only, costs $130 and includes everything in the Gold Edition (except the steelbook case) plus additional cosmetics.

Finally, the $230 Collector’s Edition of the game includes a host of physical goodies, including the main attraction, the Na’vi statue, and everything in the Ultimate Edition.

Plot

For those unfamiliar with the world of Avatar, the series revolves around Pandora, a habitable yet extremely hostile moon in Alpha Centauri, the closest star system to ours.

Pandora is home to a variety of exotic plant and animal species, but at the heart of its world and history are the Na’vi race. These human-like creatures are blue in color, stand 3 meters tall, and connect to other life forms through tendrils at the ends of their braided hair.

The first Avatar film depicts the beginning of the war between humans and the Na’vi. In the mid-22nd century, the first humans land on the Moon in the form of the Resource Development Authority. The RDA plans to mine Pandora for a vital mineral called unobtainium (yes, that’s actually the name) to save the Earth, which is running out of resources. As you can imagine, the Na’vi are not very happy about this plan.

To better communicate and negotiate with the natives, the RDA creates Avatars, human-Navi hybrids that can temporarily embody scientists and military troops. The protagonist of the first film is Jake Sully, an ex-soldier who takes on the avatar of his recently deceased twin brother. Initially tasked with gathering intelligence on the Na’vi, Jake eventually becomes an ally of the Na’vi and helps lead a counterattack as the RDA advances deeper into Pandora. The first film ends with Jake transferring his consciousness permanently into the avatar’s body and the Na’vi driving out the RDA along with their human allies, but not without warning, they return.

Frontier of Pandora focuses on an area not explored in any of the films: the Western Frontier. It focuses on the Na’vi, who were abducted by the RDA as children and trained to be weapons for humanity. When the RDA is driven out by Pandora at the end of the first film, the young Na’vi is placed in cryosleep. He awakens 15 years later to reunite with his race and join the fight against the recently returned RDA. The arrival of the RDA is depicted at the beginning of the second film, “The Way of the Water”.

The story is canon and connects to Avatar 3

According to Ubisoft and Avatar film studio Lightstorm, everything in Frontier of Pandora is canon to the broader Avatar film universe. Additionally, Lightstorm’s Joshua Izzo said Frontier of Pandora may contain hints to the next Avatar film.

Izzo told IGN that “Frontier of Pandora will have some sequel elements that will pay off when the film comes out in 2025 when Avatar 3 is released.” He added that “diehard Avatar fans who have played the game will want to go back and experience certain things again when it comes out in 2025.”

Development

This is not Ubisoft’s first Avatar game. Ubisoft’s Montreal studio attempted to create a prequel title set two years before the previous game. GameSpot gave the game a 5.5 out of 10 in 2009, with reviewer Kevin VanOrd saying it was “not a bad game, and it’s competent in parts, if not entirely remarkable.” But Avatar quickly grew tiresome, and the story was too weak to make up for its shortcomings.”

Frontier of Pandora is being overseen by Massive Entertainment, the developer of the Division series, and is based on an updated version of the latter’s Snowdrop engine. A prototype of a possible game was used to convince James Cameron to agree to the project. It was officially announced in early 2017, a little over a year before the planned release date of The Way of Water. Of course, the film wasn’t released on that release date.

While Massive’s Division games are played in third-person perspective, Frontier of Pandora is set in first-person perspective. This decision was made to give players a closer feel to Pandora. The game’s creative director, Magnus Jansen, previously explained that the world of Pandora is very reactive, so a first-person perspective gives the game a more tangible and immersive experience.

Frontiers of Pandora isn’t the only Disney-based game Massive is developing: the studio is also working on Star Wars: Outlaws, due for release in 2024. It was Massive’s work on the Avatar titles that reportedly impressed the House of Mouse enough to give Star Wars a shot.

Gameplay

Players can customize their Na`vi character and explore the open world. As mentioned before, the game is played in a first-person perspective, but switches to a third-person perspective when riding two different vehicles.

The first is a flying vehicle called the Ikran, which has its own skill tree and is used to quickly travel from location to location, including hard-to-reach locations like floating mountains. Players can jump off the Ikran while flying and use it seamlessly when transitioning from ground to air during combat. The second is the Dire Horse, which can be ridden to fly across land.

The game has three main biomes: the Kinglaw Rainforest, the Upper Plains, and the Cloud Forest. To navigate the world, players have a Na’vi perspective instead of a traditional minimap, highlighting important elements of the world, such as hunting animals, crafting materials such as plants, and marked resources such as destinations.

Combat and fast travel are central to the gameplay of Frontiers of Pandora. Thanks to the combined training of the Na’vi and humans, players can use weapons from both races’ arsenals. Humans have rifles, while the Na’vi have bows, spears, and homemade natural grenades. The latter may seem disappointing compared to the former, but remember, you’re playing a 10-foot-tall humanoid cat alien. These bows have high power and are useful when trying to sneak up on a situation. You can also use hacking tools to communicate with RDA bases or temporarily disable RDA amp suits. Na’Vi is large but relies on speed rather than durability.

In Ubisoft’s traditional open-world format, upgraded gear is useful when clearing out enemy outposts, especially when you need to craft special ammo or healing items mid-battle. As you’d expect from a huge game, there’s an extensive gear system with different rarities. Clearing an outpost will repair the world of Pandora and unlock new resources that can be used for crafting. Some rare plant and animal components only appear at certain times of day or weather conditions.

There is also an upgrade tree that can be accessed by connecting with Eywa, the Na’vi goddess who connects all living things on Pandora. In the movie lore, this connection allows the Na’vi to see the memories of the deceased, which gives players access to five upgrade paths: Hunter unlocks better tracking skills, Maker improves crafting skills, Rider allows players to build their creations, improves Ikran, Survivors modify their health and inventory, and Warriors improve their weapon skills.

That’s all you need to know about Avatar: Pandora’s Frontier. You can get a more detailed impression in our hands-on preview, so stay tuned for our final review and for more information on Na’vi, stay tuned to GameSpot.