Transformers may be one of the highest-grossing media franchises of all time, but it is virtually nonexistent in the video game market. There have been a couple of strong Transformers games over the years, but the majority have fizzled out and been forgotten. The IP has never made it very big in the gaming space, but Transformers: Rise of the Beasts should change that.
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is the first new live-action Transformers movie since 2018's Bumblebee. The Michael Bay Transformers films have never been met with strong reviews, but Bumblebee was the first entry not directed by Bay in years, and it quickly became a fan-favorite. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts will hopefully continue that trend, and its possible success could bring the IP back into the spotlight, which makes it the perfect time for a new era of Transformers games.
Transformers' History in the Gaming Industry
Transformers has had it rough in the gaming industry so far, but the IP deserves to shine. The franchise has seen multiple mobile games including a Clash of Clans clone and a re-skinned Angry Birds. There have also been a couple forgettable titles based on the live-action films, and an on-rails shooter for the Wii. Some of the most popular Transformers games have been from the War for Cybetron series, but this came to a generally lackluster conclusion.
Once Activision lost the Transformers license at the end of 2017, the majority of its Transformers games were delisted from digital storefronts. This meant fans could no longer purchase or download games like Transformers: War for Cybertron, Transformers; Devastation, and the games based on the Michael Bay Transformers films. None of these have returned to storefronts, so the only way to really play them now is emulation or finding physical copies. That has left only mobile games to fill the void.
Transformers vanished from the AAA gaming world after Activision's license expired, but it seems to be slowly coming back. In 2020, Transformers: Battlegrounds marked the first home console release since Activision. While it is not groundbreaking, it has given fans something to check out outside the mobile market. Splash Damage is also preparing to launch the recently announced Transformers: Reactivate, and this should just be the start of its grand return.
The World Needs More Transformers Games
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts will have people talking about the franchise again, and the video game industry needs to capitalize. The Transformers films have raked billions of dollars, and the franchise will undoubtedly only get more popular as new projects are released. It feels like the perfect time for gaming to really tap into the IP.
The Transformers IP can fit all sorts of different genres. The transforming aliens could fight against each other in an RTS, they could venture across Earth or Cybertron in an action-adventure title, they could fit right into a fighting game with diverse transformations, and they could even work in a new first-person or third-person shooter. There are so many different genres that could make players feel like these powerful aliens, and now is the time to tap that potential.
The Transformers franchise deserves to shine through video games. There is so much potential for engaging titles, and it would be a huge-missed opportunity if it was not further explored in the wake of Rise of the Beasts. Fans deserve to be able to play as their favorite Autobots or Decepticons on home consoles, and now is the time to offer them that.