Overview
- Avalanche co-founder Christofer Sundberg, in an interview published Tuesday, said the late-2000s fantasy project AionGuard had plans that matched what players now see in Crimson Desert.
- AionGuard’s design called for a Just Cause–style open world with region liberations, dragon riding, physics-driven elemental magic like freezing and shattering foes, and the ability to transform into a towering golem.
- Sundberg said the game was signed before the partner changed strategy to focus on existing franchises and then canceled the deal with a text message.
- After buying back the rights, Avalanche revealed AionGuard on Edge magazine’s January 2009 cover, and Sundberg said later pitches failed because publishers avoided a project that was already announced.
- The team shifted to a steampunk London game called Arcadia Rising, which Sundberg said stalled after THQ’s financial troubles, leaving only a few low-resolution AionGuard images as reminders.