Transformers: Reactivate has been in production since 2019, when Certain Affinity developed the game under a different name, Transformers: Rise. Splash Damage announced the game again at The Game Awards in 2022, but there’s been radio silence since then, with only a leaked video from an old build showing us what the game looked like.
Splash Damage has now announced that they are canceling the game and that there will be layoffs as they “focus on other projects.” It’s unclear why the game was canceled, though development has clearly had a rocky path. Hasbro has said that they really want to get into video games themselves, so maybe they’ve pulled the plug and have another game with their own studio waiting in the wings.
Transformers: Reactivate is set in the future, where the Earth has already fallen and the Autobots are our last hope, battling a new enemy called The Legion, “the greatest threat the Autobots have ever faced.” This explained the generic robot enemies in the trailer and no hint of a Decepticon. Aside from that leaked information, the game suggested a free-to-play multiplayer PvE game, perhaps similar to Destiny.
Transformers games shouldn’t be that hard to get right, you already have the classes, you have the combat and most of all you have over a thousand characters to choose from. The Cybertron games had it good, as did Devestation, but since then the attempts at Transformers games have been passable at best. The most recent Transformers game, Galactic Trials, is downright terrible and should be avoided like the plague.
Clearly, I should never have defended the game on our Most Wanted of 2025 list!
Source: Tweet