Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora to get third-person mode and New Game+

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, Ubisoft’s open-world romp across Pandora (no, not that one) is getting a substantial new free gameplay update two years after release. This update will bring a whole new perspective to the gameplay, as well as introduce a New Game+ mode to the experience.

The first major feature in the update is a third-person perspective. At the push of a button, the player can transition from first-person to third-person view. This new perspective allows the player to get a better sense of their Na’vi protagonist’s appearance and how they interact with their environment. According to the Ubisoft Blog, the development team “reworked animations, controls, audio, and camera systems to ensure the experience feels seamless and intuitive“.

The other major feature being added to Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is a New Game+ mode. For players who have completed the game, they can reattempt it with all of their accumulated inventory and skills. New Game+ will reward those diving back in with brand new gear and a new skill tree to equip players for the tougher challenges of this mode.

Now, it isn’t a surprise when a critically well-received game like Cyberpunk 2077 gets a major gameplay update years after release. Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, however, launched to very mixed critical reception back in 2023. Despite subsequent quality-of-life improvements, its reception on Steam stubbornly remains Mixed at time of writing. The game has received two premium DLC expansions, The Sky Breaker and Secrets of the Spires, along with improvements to its menus and performance in response to negative reviews. That said, the fact that the upcoming movie, Avatar: Fire and Ash, is coming out the same month as this update, then I guess it makes some sense to coax gamers into checking out the Avatar game around the time they want them to be interested in checking out the new Avatar movie.

Will a third-person gameplay mode and New Game+ be enough to encourage players to return to their Na’vi adventures? Only one way to find out! The free third-person update for Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora will release on December 5th 2025, exactly two weeks before the release of Avatar: Fire and Ash in cinemas.