Splash Damage Scraps Transformers: Reactivate After Lengthy Development
After a prolonged and challenging development cycle, Splash Damage has officially canceled its Transformers: Reactivate project. The news follows a cryptic trailer reveal at The Game Awards 2022, which showcased a 1-4 player online game featuring Autobots and Decepticons uniting against a new alien threat. While leaks suggested a Generation 1 roster including Ironhide, Hot Rod, Starscream, and Soundwave (with Optimus Prime and Bumblebee also rumored), and even the possibility of Beast Wars characters, the game will not see release.
The studio's announcement on Twitter cited the difficult decision to halt development, acknowledging potential staff redundancies as a result. They 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 due to the lack of updates since the initial trailer.
Splash Damage's focus now shifts to "Project Astrid," a AAA open-world survival game built with Unreal Engine 5, announced in March 2023 in collaboration with streamers Shroud and Sacriel. While resources are redirected to this new project, layoffs are expected within the studio following the cancellation of Transformers: Reactivate. This leaves Transformers fans still awaiting a high-quality, AAA game featuring the iconic Robots in Disguise.
Summary
Developed by: Splash Damage Published by: Hasbro and Takara Tomy (implied)