The announcement of G.I Joe: Operation Blackout— allegedly a new video game based on Hasbro’s toy line—appears to have been spoiled by a leak.
It’s been a while since the world last saw a G.I: Joe video game (or any form of media for that matter), so a new action title for the franchise would’ve been a welcome surprise for fans everywhere.
It seems there may have been a surprise reveal in the works after all, which was prematurely outed via a social media leak.
Thanks to Instagram user “anerdydad”—who posted a picture of the title’s box art—fans now know that there could be a video game reportedly in development called G.I Joe: Operation Blackout, set for release on the PlayStation 4. Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
The leak should be taken with a grain of salt, however, since an official announcement has yet to be made. Known G.I Joe website Hisstank reports that the game will be released on October 13, 2020, and a Switch version is also in the works.
What you can tell from glancing at the box art
If there’s one thing people know about box art character positioning, it’s that the person in the middle usually turns out to be the protagonist.
Assuming that the theory holds up for G.I Joe: Operation Blackout, then it looks as though Shana O’Hara —better known as Scarlett—will be the upcoming game’s main character. Scarlett is known for being an expert in martial and acrobatics and is usually seen wielding a power crossbow.
The cover art also shows Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow—G.I. Joe’s fan-favorite ninja rivalry—going at it in the backdrop.
No information has come to light regarding what gameplay will look like, though the leak did reveal that the game’s being developed by GameMill Entertainment, a studio with a reputation for making mediocre titles at best, such as Zombieland: Double Tap – Road Trip and Cartoon Network: Battle Crashers.
Gamemill entertainment is the LJN of the modern age pic.twitter.com/luKA7f0HdJ
— Todd The big boy trash bandit #BLM (@raccoon_todd) September 21, 2019
The history of G.I Joe in video game consoles
G.I Joe: Cobra Strike was the first video game based on Hasbro’s line of toys, and was released back in 1983 for the Atari 2600.
The next game in the franchise would come a couple of years later and be called G.I Joe: A Real American Hero, developed for the Apple II and Commodore 64 in 1985. Two more entries would later be released on the Commodore 64 called Action Force I and II.
Afterward, the franchise moved on the Nintendo Entertainment system, where they debuted an action title simply named G.I Joe, along with its sequel The Atlantis Factor.
G.I. Joe: The Atlantis Factor (#NES)
Are…
Are You…
…LAYING EGGS ON ME?!
Not Cool, Bro
Not Cool#Retrogaming pic.twitter.com/AzvrkMtjXk— Rєtг๏❤️Gเf๓๏ภรtєг (@RetroGifMonster) June 6, 2017
Fast forward to 2009, developer Double Helix Games and Publisher Electronic Arts came out with G.I Joe: Rise of Cobra, a video game tie-in to the film of the same name. The game was released on pretty much every console available at the time and was met with fairly dreadful reviews.
G.I Joe has not had a great run in video games so far, but fans can always hope that Operation Blackout can change that for the better. Even though being developed by GameMill Entertainment certainly doesn’t put the odds in their favor.
Featured image courtesy of Hasbro