<p>Video game adaptations of Hollywood blockbusters fell out of fashion over the last decade, but makers of the sequel to all-time top-grossing movie <em>Avatar </em>hope their tie-in will buck the trend.</p>.<p>Made by French giant Ubisoft, <em>Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora</em> is an opportunity to "extend (the universe) and give fans somewhere to go," said Jon Landau, the head of director James Cameron's production company Lightstorm Entertainment.</p>.<p>The Avatar follow-up set for release in late 2022 is just the latest gargantuan film project the company has steered for Cameron since the late 1980s, from <em>Terminator 2: Judgement Day </em>to <em>Titanic</em> to the first <em>Avatar </em>film in 2009.</p>.<p>Landau pitches the game as a complement to the new movie, a chance to explore the mythical planet of Pandora and its blue-skinned inhabitants beyond even the sprawling version on cinema screens.</p>.<p>"It's an extension of the experience of the movie, and the movie is an extension of the experience of the game. It goes both ways," he told AFP.</p>.<p>If Lightstorm succeeds, it will mark a shift in fortunes for video game tie-ins.</p>.<p>Through the 1990s and 2000s, no blockbuster movie release was complete without a (often half-baked) video game to go with it.</p>.<p>Since games take substantially longer to make than films, it was no surprise that they gained a reputation for being rushed and cynical attempts to suck a few extra dollars out of a Hollywood juggernaut, and they have all but disappeared in recent years.</p>.<p>But the "Avatar" producers commissioned their new game in 2017, allowing time for a serious attempt at a hit.</p>.<p>"We make great movies in our world. We wanted someone else to take our world and bring their expertise with the same philosophy, the same passion that we have," Landau said.</p>.<p>Admittedly, the developers have been given some breathing room by endless delays to Cameron's monumental film project, which has become something of a running joke in Hollywood.</p>.<p>Two sequels were initially promised after Avatar's record-breaking 2009 release, with the first initially slated for 2014.</p>.<p>Since then, there have been at least seven postponements and the project has swelled to four new movies, currently set for release between 2022 and 2028.</p>.<p>But there are certainly plenty of fans awaiting them: <em>Avatar </em>regained its crown as the highest-grossing film of all time -- briefly stolen by the last instalment of <em>The Avengers</em> trilogy -- after being re-released in China this winter.</p>.<p>Fans got their first taste of the game when Ubisoft presented a trailer at the E3 conference earlier this month.</p>.<p>It is being handled by a subsidiary, Ubisoft Massive, a 700-strong team based in Malmo, Sweden.</p>.<p>They are using their gaming engine Snowdrop to build a massive online world, allowing players to embody an indigenous Na'vi as they head out into the far-flung western frontier of Pandora.</p>
<p>Video game adaptations of Hollywood blockbusters fell out of fashion over the last decade, but makers of the sequel to all-time top-grossing movie <em>Avatar </em>hope their tie-in will buck the trend.</p>.<p>Made by French giant Ubisoft, <em>Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora</em> is an opportunity to "extend (the universe) and give fans somewhere to go," said Jon Landau, the head of director James Cameron's production company Lightstorm Entertainment.</p>.<p>The Avatar follow-up set for release in late 2022 is just the latest gargantuan film project the company has steered for Cameron since the late 1980s, from <em>Terminator 2: Judgement Day </em>to <em>Titanic</em> to the first <em>Avatar </em>film in 2009.</p>.<p>Landau pitches the game as a complement to the new movie, a chance to explore the mythical planet of Pandora and its blue-skinned inhabitants beyond even the sprawling version on cinema screens.</p>.<p>"It's an extension of the experience of the movie, and the movie is an extension of the experience of the game. It goes both ways," he told AFP.</p>.<p>If Lightstorm succeeds, it will mark a shift in fortunes for video game tie-ins.</p>.<p>Through the 1990s and 2000s, no blockbuster movie release was complete without a (often half-baked) video game to go with it.</p>.<p>Since games take substantially longer to make than films, it was no surprise that they gained a reputation for being rushed and cynical attempts to suck a few extra dollars out of a Hollywood juggernaut, and they have all but disappeared in recent years.</p>.<p>But the "Avatar" producers commissioned their new game in 2017, allowing time for a serious attempt at a hit.</p>.<p>"We make great movies in our world. We wanted someone else to take our world and bring their expertise with the same philosophy, the same passion that we have," Landau said.</p>.<p>Admittedly, the developers have been given some breathing room by endless delays to Cameron's monumental film project, which has become something of a running joke in Hollywood.</p>.<p>Two sequels were initially promised after Avatar's record-breaking 2009 release, with the first initially slated for 2014.</p>.<p>Since then, there have been at least seven postponements and the project has swelled to four new movies, currently set for release between 2022 and 2028.</p>.<p>But there are certainly plenty of fans awaiting them: <em>Avatar </em>regained its crown as the highest-grossing film of all time -- briefly stolen by the last instalment of <em>The Avengers</em> trilogy -- after being re-released in China this winter.</p>.<p>Fans got their first taste of the game when Ubisoft presented a trailer at the E3 conference earlier this month.</p>.<p>It is being handled by a subsidiary, Ubisoft Massive, a 700-strong team based in Malmo, Sweden.</p>.<p>They are using their gaming engine Snowdrop to build a massive online world, allowing players to embody an indigenous Na'vi as they head out into the far-flung western frontier of Pandora.</p>