Is Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora canon? Timeline explained

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora gives you a brand new way to explore the world from James Cameron’s movies. But is the game set in the same canon as the blockbuster movies? Here’s all you need to know about the Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora timeline.

From Starfield to Diablo 4 to Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, 2023 saw some of the biggest game releases in recent years, and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is one of them. Developed by Ubisoft, the game lets you experience life in the Na’vi tribe firsthand.

Set on the titular planet, it is an open-world game that explores a never-before-seen area of Pandora. This might make you wonder if the title is set in the same universe as the box office-smashing movies by James Cameron.

So, is Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora canon? Here’s everything you need to know.

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora – Is it canon?

Yes, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is canon in the same universe as the two Avatar movies to date. This was confirmed by James Cameron himself at the Ubisoft Forward event in June 2023, where the directors explained that the game will “co-exist” with his successful films.

However, he also clarified that the Western Frontier where most of the game will take place is a “new corner” of Pandora, meaning it’s unlikely that there will be too much overlap between the story of the movies and Ubisoft’s project.

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora timeline explained

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora takes place around 14 to 15 years after the original movie, in the year 2169. In an interview with Polygon, The Way Of Water co-producer, Jon Landauhis, explained that this places it around the same time as the sequel’s opening scene.

Frontiers Of Pandora takes place in the western frontier of Pandora. That’s not somewhere we’ve gone before,” he said. “It takes place in the timeframe after Avatar: The Way Of Water opens, but before the one-year time cut in the movie.”

He went on to say that this was a conscious decision to give the game space to become canon in the wider Avatar universe, without conflicting with the vision that James Cameron has for the films.

There you have it, that was everything you need to know about the Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora timeline. For more on the game, check out our other pieces:

Is Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora coming to PlayStation 4 & Xbox One? | Does Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora have third-person mode? | Does Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora have VR mode? | Is Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora coming to Xbox Game Pass? | Does Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora have co-op or multiplayer? | Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora PC requirements