Splash Damage officially cancels the long-delayed Transformers: Reactivate. The 1-4 player online game, teased at The Game Awards 2022, was to feature a collaborative Autobot and Decepticon effort against a new alien threat. Despite initial excitement fueled by leaked information suggesting playable characters like Ironhide, Hot Rod, Starscream, and Soundwave (and potential Beast Wars inclusions), the project has been scrapped.
The studio's announcement cites a difficult decision and acknowledges potential staff layoffs due to redundancies as they pivot to other projects. Splash Damage expressed gratitude to the development team and Hasbro for their support. Fan reaction has been varied, with some expressing disappointment while others anticipated the cancellation given the lack of updates since the 2022 trailer.
The studio's focus now shifts to "Project Astrid," a AAA open-world survival game built with Unreal Engine 5, announced in March 2023 and developed in collaboration with streamers Shroud and Sacriel. This change in direction, however, unfortunately results in job losses for some members of the Transformers: Reactivate team. The cancellation leaves Transformers fans still awaiting a high-quality, AAA game featuring the iconic robots.
Summary
- Transformers: Reactivate canceled after a troubled development.
- Potential layoffs at Splash Damage.
- Studio now focusing on the Unreal Engine 5 open-world survival game, "Project Astrid."
