Splash Damage Scraps Transformers: Reactivate After Lengthy Development
The long-awaited Transformers: Reactivate, unveiled at The Game Awards 2022, has been officially canceled by developer Splash Damage. The 1-4 player online game, featuring Autobots and Decepticons battling a new alien threat, faced a troubled and extended development cycle. While initial leaks suggested a roster including classic characters like Ironhide, Hot Rod, Starscream, and Soundwave (with Optimus Prime and Bumblebee hinted at through toy releases), and even potential Beast Wars inclusions, the project ultimately failed to materialize.
Splash Damage's announcement on Twitter cited difficult decisions and potential staff redundancies as a result of the cancellation. The studio expressed gratitude to the development team and Hasbro for their support. Fan reaction has been mixed, with some expressing disappointment, while others anticipated the cancellation given the lack of updates following the 2022 trailer.
The studio is now fully focused on "Project Astrid," a AAA open-world survival game built using Unreal Engine 5, announced in March 2023 in collaboration with streamers Shroud and Sacriel. This shift in focus necessitates layoffs within the team previously working on Transformers: Reactivate. For now, Transformers fans remain without a new AAA title featuring the iconic Robots in Disguise.
Summary
- Transformers: Reactivate canceled after a prolonged, problematic development.
- Potential layoffs at Splash Damage due to project cancellation.
- Studio now concentrating on the Unreal Engine 5 open-world survival game, "Project Astrid."
Produced By Hasbro and Takara Tomy
