This week, Splash Damage officially pulled the plug on Transformers: Reactivate, marking the end of its journey in the gaming world. After years of labor and a long stretch of radio silence, the developers announced they are halting work on this online shooter. Interestingly, the first gameplay footage emerged online just as the project’s cancellation was confirmed.
During its development, Reactivate transitioned to Unreal Engine 5, and the footage seems to have been captured after this shift occurred.
The clip made its way online thanks to DpzLuna on Twitter, an account dedicated to sharing updates on the game – of which there haven’t been many, admittedly. The footage runs for over six minutes and provides a glimpse into some straightforward combat from a single Transformer’s perspective.
Being a shooter, Transformers: Reactivate naturally revolved around gunplay, with players transforming into vehicles sporadically. It seems that becoming a car was the primary mode of transportation across the game’s presumably expansive map.
When in car mode, you could still fire weapons, and the transition animations look quite impressive. The shooting mechanics themselves appear solid, complemented by punchy sound effects and significant recoil. However, the battles shown involve non-Decepticon AI opponents.
From what can be seen, Reactivate likely featured an open-world setup, providing players the freedom to explore and choose their objectives. These tasks included typical missions like clearing areas of foes.
Despite the footage being from an early build, missing several elements, there was potential. However, with the gaming industry witnessing numerous live service mishaps in 2024 – such as the downfall of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League and Sony’s short-lived Concord release – it’s worth pondering whether decision-makers doubted Reactivate’s viability in today’s competitive market.
It’s undeniably disappointing to witness the efforts of a skilled studio like Splash Damage go unfulfilled. The team often seems on the verge of crafting a breakout hit, so seeing their potential untapped is truly frustrating.
