Publisher Suspends Transformers Project

Transformers: Reactivate Officially Cancelled by Splash Damage

Splash Damage has announced the cancellation of its highly anticipated Transformers title, Transformers: Reactivate, after a prolonged and challenging development cycle. Revealed at The Game Awards 2022, Reactivate was envisioned as a 1-4 player online game featuring Autobots and Decepticons uniting against a new alien threat. The project, however, remained largely shrouded in mystery since its announcement, with only a few leaks and early toy releases offering glimpses of potential gameplay and characters like Ironhide, Hot Rod, Starscream, and Soundwave. Rumors even suggested the inclusion of Beast Wars characters.

The cancellation, confirmed via a Splash Damage Twitter statement, was described as a difficult decision. Unfortunately, the studio anticipates potential layoffs due to redundancies as it redirects its focus. The team expressed gratitude to the developers who worked on Reactivate and to Hasbro for their support.

Fan reaction has been varied, ranging from disappointment to unsurprised resignation given the lack of updates since the initial trailer.

Splash Damage's future lies with "Project Astrid," a AAA open-world survival game built using Unreal Engine 5, announced in March 2023 in collaboration with streamers Shroud and Sacriel. Resources will now be channeled into this new project, although the Reactivate cancellation will unfortunately result in job losses. The cancellation leaves Transformers fans still awaiting a high-quality, AAA game featuring the iconic robots.

Summary:

• Transformers: Reactivate cancelled after a troubled development.
• Potential layoffs at Splash Damage.
• Studio now focusing on the open-world survival game, "Project Astrid," using Unreal Engine 5.

Produced By: Hasbro and Takara Tomy