Furiosa Just Confirmed the 2015 Mad Max Video Game Is Canon

The 2015 Mad Max video game is a footnote in the franchise’s history – right? Not according to Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, which just confirmed the Mad Max game is canon!

Related: Why Isn’t Charlize Theron In Furiosa?

Furiosa’s Connection to the 2015 Mad Max Video Game, Explained

Developed by Avalanche Studios, the Mad Max video game dropped several months after soft reboot Mad Max: Fury Road roared into cinemas in May 2015. Despite this, Avalanche’s game – an open-world action-adventure outing – tells a standalone story. Tom Hardy doesn’t reprise the Max Rockatansky role, either. That said, Mad Max still boasts a handful of direct ties to Fury Road. This includes its main boss, Scabrous Scrotus, who is the son of Fury Road‘s villain, Immortan Joe. Two key locations from the Mad Max movies – Gas Town and Thunderdome – are in the game, as well. Plus, franchise co-creator (and Fury Road co-writer/director) George Miller consulted on Mad Max during pre-production, lending the game further legitimacy.

Related: Furiosa: Is Tom Hardy in the Mad Max: Fury Road Prequel?

As a result, the question of the 2015 Mad Max game’s canonicity has always been tricky to answer – until now. Thanks to Fury Road prequel Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, we know that Avalanche’s game is indeed an official part of wider franchise lore. This confirmation comes primarily through the presence of Scrotus, who appears in Furiosa portrayed by Joshua Helman. Furiosa also features a cameo by Chumbucket, Max’s mechanic sidekick in the 2015 game, played by Bryan Probets. Both characters align with how they’re depicted in Mad Max, indicating that Miller didn’t simply recycle their names. So, they’re now fully enshrined in the franchise’s (admittedly loose) continuity.

George Miller Seemingly Didn’t Like the 2015 Mad Max Video Game

It’s somewhat surprising that Miller seemingly considers the 2015 Mad Max video game canon, considering he’s not exactly the game’s biggest fan. “[The game] wasn’t as good as I wanted it to be,” he lamented in a recent GAMINGbible interview. “I’m one of those people that I’d rather not do something unless you can do it at the highest level.” Miller also expressed interest in seeing legendary video game designer Hideo Kojima take a stab at a new Mad Max game. “I’ve just been speaking to Kojima here who came all the way from Japan,” he said. “If he would take it on… but he’s got so much fantastic stuff on his own head, so I would never ask him.”

Related: Furiosa: Is Max Rockatansky in the Mad Max: Fury Road Prequel?

Miller shouting out Kojima is somewhat ironic, given 2015 stealth title Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (which Kojima directed) hurt Mad Max‘s sales. Avalanche co-founder Christofer Sundberg touched on this in a scathing response to Miller’s comments on X (formerly Twitter). “[W]e were forced to release Mad Max on the same day as [Metal Gear Solid V],” Sundberg wrote. “[Warner Bros.] blamed us for the bad sales and cancelled a bunch of awesome DLC that was just sitting there waiting to be released.” Sundberg also took Miller to task for his “complete arrogance” and admonished Warner Bros. for initially insisting that Mad Max employ linear level design.

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is currently in cinemas.