Ubisoft's Past and Future
There is a lot to look forward to in 2020, two new consoles are on the horizon, which means new titles for them, but as we get to the tail end of the two they are replacing, games are getting bigger and bolder, as developers have learnt how to leverage all the power and technical know-how from them, to craft worlds the demand to be enjoyed. So, let’s take a look at what we have to look forward to for 2020 from Ubisoft.
Ubisoft had quite an odd 2019, they released games in most of their major series, either by way of new content or remaster, but players seemed to not click with most of it. They started with the spin-off entry in the Far Cry series, New Dawn, which took the series in a new direction, one that some players liked, and others didn’t and it seemed that the year kept that stance for the rest of the year.
February also saw the next entry in the popular, in the minor series that is Trials and Rising was a great addition, taking the series back to the more grounded reality, after the futuristic Fusion. It also marked the first time the series came to a Nintendo platform, but it was March that saw the company get their first big hit of the year.
Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 was a highly anticipated title, taking the foundation of the original game, expanding on it and moving it to an entirely new location, players were eager to jump in and save the world. Just as excited as people were, they dropped off in droves and while there still is a community running with the game, it might not be as large as Ubisoft would like.
This sadly also happened with Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint, a sequel of sorts to the phenomenal Wildlands, with the aforementioned title even introducing the main villain of Breakpoint as DLC. The hype for the game was higher than that of The Division 2, but the game released full of bugs and issues, which meant people were not happy to stick around, but as Ubisoft have proven, they are happy to stick with a game, to make it the best it could be.
Anno 1800 also saw release in 2019, giving RTS fans another dose of this long running series and of course, Just Dance 2020 saw release on just about every platform and by that I mean every platform, with it being the final game made for the Wii, 13 years after the console debuted.
2019 might have been a solid year, but it was not the hit they were expecting, before the year ended, they announced that they would be delaying Watch Dogs Legion, Gods and Monsters and Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Quarantine until they could be assured of their quality.
Which brings us to 2020, there are a few titles we know are shipping this year, some that might, but could easily be in early 2021 and some we have no idea about. Of course, regardless of the fact it has not been announced yet, Just Dance 2021 is a lock for an October/November release, the series has that same release window for many years now and unless they decide to not make that game this year, I don’t see that changing.
Roller Champions is expected in early 2020 and is an online title, designed to become an eSport and is all about rollerblading around arenas to score goals. The idea seems fine, not one for me, but I can see a community getting behind it, the problem is that if people don’t click with the sport, the game will be dead on arrival, thankfully attention at gaming shows around the world and even here in Australia, have had people walking away happy.
The games that were delayed, Watch Dogs Legion and Rainbow Six Quarantine have 2020 dates for now, but there is no word on them releasing this year, Watch Dogs might, given it was playable at E3 2019, and it was dated for March. If the developers only need to take another six months or so, we could easily see it in October, unless they want more time on it, which is also possible, the news at this stages does not point either way.
Rainbow Six Quarantine is a complete mystery, we got the title announced at E3 2019 and then we heard it was delayed, but very little is known about it, other than that. While Siege is set in the competitive shooter space, with content expected all year long for that one, Quarantine has the disadvantage of being stuck in its shadow and unless we see an explosion of content, that might not change for a good while.
Gods & Monsters is another odd one, the game was also debuted at E3 2019 via a CGI trailer and that was it, we saw no gameplay, even in the months since. Then the game was delayed, and even since that announcement, we have heard nothing on it, which is honestly not a good sign and while the studio leading development did a great job with Starlink: Battle for Atlas, they misread the desire for people to have another toys to life title, which does not bolster confidence in ther next game.
A new entry in The Settlers universe is expected this year, but I honestly know very little about it, as it has not been a series that I pay attention to. The only other titles we know that might release this year are Skull & Bones, the 5v5 pirate ship game that we have seen a few times, before it sailed into the dense fog of development and Beyond Good and Evil 2. The game looked like it was in a near complete state and the developers had been keeping people updated for a while, but that seems to have tapered off and while seeing it release this year would be nice, there is nothing that points that way, yet.
Of course, Ubisoft have dozens of studios around the world, in fact they have so many, it is not uncommon for one title to be worked on 24 hours a day, as parts studios around the world all share development on it. While some of the studios are just supporting ones, some have taken the lead on projects like the recent Assassin’s Creed Remasters and other focus on mobile content. In 2020 I don’t expect most of these to change to major leads, but stranger things have happened.
Ubisoft also have a massive backlog of IP that they can pull out and create something new with, beyond what we already know, such as Prince of Persia. The series has been silent since The Forgotten Sword, the game that tied in the with movie, but I don’t think 2020 is the year that the Prince returns, unless someone has come up with another amazing idea. Splinter Cell, one of the many Tom Clancy titles, is also one that has been dark for a while, and while fans keep hyping up each year being the one that the series returns in, there have been no rumours on it happening this year. Assassin’s Creed had a year off, at least on its mainline releases in 2019, but will they release a new one in this year, Origins set a new standard for the series and then Odyssey blew that out of the water and crafted something even better, it honestly depends on where the next title was in development, if they were still early when they saw what Odyssey was doing, then yes we might see it, however if they were deep in the rabbit hole, then no, unless they don’t care and want to leave things as they were.
2020 is a big year for Ubisoft, they need to prove that they can recover from the misfires of 2019 and while last year was not a bad year, they just seemed to misread a lot of what players were wanting. They have some big names lined up for the year and some potential ones to boot, so they have the content to spare, it is just a matter of them releasing each title when they are ready, but that is a decision I leave up to them.
