Avatar: The Last Airbender Gets Surprise Fighting Game Reveal at NYCC
- Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game was surprise-announced at NYCC 2025 during Avatar’s 20th Anniversary panel.
- Developed by Gameplay Group International, the studio has revived canceled games from Maximum Entertainment.
- Launching 2026 with 12 characters, rollback netcode, cross-play, and releasing on PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and Switch 2.
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Failure Is Only The Opportunity To Begin Again
Avatar: The Last Airbender, the popular animated series that’s spawned multiple spin-offs, has now got an (almost) new video game coming out next year. New York Comic Con 2025 held a 20th Anniversary cast reunion for the show yesterday, Oct. 12, but the panel also came with the surprise reveal for Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game.
Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game is being developed by Gameplay Group International. This is a new studio launched in April 2024 that’s been building up steam behind the scenes by focusing on an unusual mission: resurrecting canceled games, with Avatar Legends being one of them.
“I’ve long been frustrated seeing good games canceled or unable to find their audience,” said Victor Lugo, Gameplay Group International Founder, in a statement from September this year. “Every project we touch is designed to elevate play, and our initial slate of fighting games is especially close to my heart.”
“Excited to finally show what we’ve been building all these months,” said Philip Mayes, CEO, in a LinkedIn post on Oct. 12. “I’ve been quietly working away alongside Victor Lugo, Carole Lin and the team at Gameplay Group International Inc and yesterday our project was announced on the main stage at NYCC!”
We’re All Connected
This particular Avatar: The Last Airbender fighting game started life named after the TV show and was developed by Maximum Entertainment (Squirrel With a Gun, Hammerwatch II), who announced it in Feb. 2024, before quickly cancelling it later the same year.
Back then, it was set to be a 2D competitive multiplayer fighting game. The revived version still features these aspects, as well as a 1v1 core mode and plans to update the starting roster of 12 characters with more as season updates (similar to how Street Fighter 6 currently works).
However, Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game isn’t the only Maximum Entertainment property dropped by that company and resurrected by Gameplay Group International: Diesel Legacy: The Brazen Age and Them’s Fightin’ Herds are two other fighting games now published by Gameplay Group International.
Although the former still lists Maximum Entertainment as the developer, Them’s Fighting Herds was initially developed by Mane6. However, it was taken over by Modus, a developer and publisher under Maximum Entertainment, in Jan. 2022, before ceasing development in Nov. 2023 and firing the majority of Mane6 staff in December that year.
Modus was then merged with Maximum Entertainment completely in Feb. 2024, alongside Just For Games (Bye Sweet Carole) and Merge Games (The Thaumaturge).
We All Depend On The Balance
Although there hasn’t been an official announcement from Gameplay Group International yet about Them’s Fighting Herds, players have recently noticed the change in publisher and have been posting on social media, and the game’s Steam page, in the hope that this means the game’s Story Mode will finally get finished.
As for Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game, while that name is subject to change, it’s currently slated for release in 2026. It incorporates 2D animation similar to the titular show, and features a variety of well-known characters such as Aang, Katara, Sokka, Zuko, Azula, Toph and Korra, all with signature moves that fans of the show, or its spin-offs, should recognize.
Gameplay Group Limited have revealed that Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game will include proprietary rollback netcode for fluid online gameplay, and full cross-platform play. It’ll be available on PC, PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox Series X and S, and Nintendo Switch 2.
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