As the world locked down during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, a group of literary fans got together to create a collaborative proposal. The Mistborn Ashes Project, based on the high fantasy series by Brandon Sanderson, is a proposal for a AAA game set in The Final Empire, the first book in the series' first trilogy.
Released yesterday, The Mistborn Ashes Project imagines a direct adaptation of the book, with an adventure that takes place in the capital city of Luthadel, where god-king and tyrant Lord Ruler has ruled over its people for a thousand years. Players would take control to the street urchin Vin who joins up with a band of underground thieves led by Kelsier who have been hired by the resistance. He and Vin are both Mistborn, which makes them capable of using all the powers of allomancy, which allows people to metabolize metals for increased physical and mental capabilities. With Vin's help, Kelsier's band hopes to bring about an end to Lord Ruler's reign by stealing the Final Empire's treasury and collapsing the economy.
The proposal for the Mistborn Ashes Project pitches the game as a third-person open-world game similar to Insomniac's Spider-Man games, with a sandbox approach to stealth/action goals. Combat would focus on mixing attacks, Vin's allomantic powers, and exploiting the environment to battle enemies. For tech, the team imagines it would use Unreal Engine 4 and 5 (as it moves from pre-production to production) and would play on PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5. The project's page features a wide variety of assets for characters, environments, music, and much more.
This isn't the only time the Mistborn novels were involved in the world of video games. In 2012, there were plans for a prequel video game titled Mistborn: Birthright, slated for a Fall 2013 release. However, the developer faced multiple delays, wasn't able to get the funding it needed and was officially cancelled in 2017. However, Kelsier and some other Mistborn items became available in Fortnite this year back in May.
