Avalanche co-founder Christofer Sundberg has revisited a long-cancelled fantasy project from his past, claiming the game contained many of the same ingredients now on show in Pearl Abyss' Crimson Desert.

The project, known as AionGuard, was worked on during the PlayStation 3 era at Sundberg's former studio. The title never reached release, but Sundberg told Push Square that the concept and scope bore a strong resemblance to the open-world fantasy ambitions driving recent triple-A releases.

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"We had everything from Crimson Desert," Sundberg said, reflecting on AionGuard's design and ambitions. The remark highlights how ideas that failed to reach market in previous console generations can re-emerge in new guises as technology and market appetite evolve.

Industry observers note that the PS3 generation produced numerous ambitious projects that were curtailed by technical limits, changing studio fortunes and shifting publisher priorities. Sundberg's recollection of AionGuard underlines how several now-familiar genre trappings — large open worlds, cinematic combat and high fantasy set pieces — were already being explored more than a decade ago.

Pearl Abyss's Crimson Desert has prompted renewed discussion about the lineage of modern open-world fantasy design, with developers and veterans pointing to earlier experiments and cancelled prototypes as formative steps. Sundberg's comments serve as a reminder of the number of unrealised projects that have influenced the current landscape.

AionGuard remains an example of an industry path not taken; Sundberg's comments add to an ongoing retrospective conversation about how earlier ambitions continue to shape contemporary game development.

Push Square reported Sundberg's remarks in full.