Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game gets delay hours before launch
Overview & Key Takeaways
Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game's Xbox port is delayed until September and the Switch version won't have crossplay at launch.
Roughly 13 hours before its launch, Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game’s X account delivered some tough news for would-be benders. The Xbox version of the Avatar: The Last Airbender fighting game is being delayed until September, and the Nintendo Switch version won’t have cross-play at launch. The game’s PlayStation 5 and Windows PC releases won’t be affected.
“Due to unforeseen circumstances on a backend feature, we will now launch by Sept. 3 (on Xbox). Existing pre-orders will remain active and will not be canceled,” the post reads. At this point, Xbox players are probably used to this kind of punishment when it comes to fighting games. It's the console most likely to be skipped, with games like Guilty Gear Strive taking two additional years to come to the console. The Sony-published Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls is only coming to PlayStation 5 and PC at launch. Still, even with past disappointments, it’s relatively surprising that this news came so close to release.
The Xbox delay is a blow for those on other systems because it means the game’s total player base will be smaller at launch, which can be deadly for fighting games. The fact that the Switch version won’t have cross-play at launch will only compound this problem. Another issue with the Switch release is that only the Standard Edition will be available at launch. The Deluxe Edition includes a digital art book, original soundtrack, and, most importantly, the game’s Year 1 Pass for DLC characters. The Switch version will also only be localized in English. The team hopes to fix these issues in the future.
These announcements aren’t the only evidence that Avatar Legends is coming in quite hot. In the pre-release version of the game we played for review, three of the game’s 12 characters received significant animation and gameplay reworks up until release. In an interview with YouTuber Maximilian Dood, the game’s developers said that Avatar Aang and Nightmare Korra, alternate versions of these protagonists with unique moves, will receive a bit more work in the future.
Similarly, Ozai still had placeholder animations in the final pre-release version we played, receiving a major gameplay rework almost immediately before launch. While Avatar Aang and Nightmare Korra already distinguish themselves from their clone counterparts, and Ozai has potential, it’s unusual for there to be such significant character changes this close to the wire. It's quite possible compromises were made to avoid delaying the game so it could release alongside the series' new well-received movie, Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender, which also comes out today.Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game’s bending duels are a blast, but it’s a bit disappointing that Avatar fans on Xbox and Switch won’t be able to experience everything it has to offer at launch.
