There’s no question that Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere universe is ripe for a proper AAA video game adaptation, with the author himself teasing just that as recently as last year’s 2025 State of Sanderson year-end wrap-up. The Cosmere has had a somewhat rough history with video game adaptations, with the most notable example being Mistborn: Birthright, which despite making significant progress in development, was ultimately canned.
However, as mentioned, Sanderson recently teased that he’s in talks with multiple AAA studios on a potential new Mistborn-based video game, though no details have surfaced since this announcement late last year. But there’s actually already an extremely compelling project out there that brings Sanderson’s Cosmere to life. Mistborn: Ashes is arguably the most complete and faithful video game adaptation of Sanderson’s fantasy world on offer.
Mistborn: Ashes Is The Cosmere Game We Need
Mistborn: Ashes is an ambitious fan-created “proof-of-concept” game that imagines what a full-scale AAA adaptation of Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn could look like. The project originated during the first year of the COVID-19 lockdowns, when the creative collective SoulForge began developing a proposal designed to bring the world of Scadrial, particularly Luthadel, to life. It was never an officially licensed commercial game, however, and SoulForge explicitly describes Ashes as a “nonprofit fan project” created to demonstrate the possibilities of a Mistborn video game.
The proposed game would be a third-person, “open-world lite” stealth-action adventure set during the events of The Final Empire. SoulForge cited Insomniac’s Spider-Man as an inspiration for its approach to traversal, with Vin using Allomancy to leap across Luthadel, Push and Pull against metal objects, fire coins, and move through the city at high speed.
Combat would combine conventional attacks with active and passive Allomantic powers, while missions could be approached through stealth or direct confrontation. Heists, unlockable abilities, reactive NPC conversations, and dynamic AI were also envisioned as major systems.
The prototype began in Unreal Engine 4, with Unreal Engine 5 intended should it ever make it to final stages of development. SoulForge’s team included creative director Adrián Fuentes, art director Raúl Rosell, several concept and 3D artists, and composer/sound designer Sergio Fuentes. That said, there’s been virtually no information on the project in the years since the prototype was first revealed. Still, it’s among the most promising and intriguing Mistborn video game concepts we’ve seen to date.
Will This Fan-Created Mistborn Project Rise From The Ashes?
For now, there’s little indication that Mistborn: Ashes is actually going to become a playable game or get picked up by any AAA studios. SoulForge originally presented the project in 2021 as a nonprofit fan-made proposal for what a AAA Mistborn game could look like, complete with concept art, music, and an early gameplay prototype. The project’s website still describes it in those terms, rather than as an active game currently moving toward release.
There also doesn’t appear to have been a substantial public development update in the years since. SoulForge’s current website continues to showcase Project Ashes, but there’s no announced release window, licensing deal with Dragonsteel, crowdfunding campaign, or indication that the prototype has entered full production.
That doesn’t make the project insignificant, though. Ashes remains an impressive demonstration of how naturally Mistborn could translate into a third-person action game, particularly through its experiments with Allomantic traversal and combat.
With Brandon Sanderson continuing to express interest in major Cosmere adaptations, it’s always possible that ideas like these could influence something official someday. And as Sanderson’s universe continues to grow in popularity, with both film and television adaptations now in development, it’s only a matter of time before we see something like Mistborn: Ashes come to fruition.
