This month should have seen the video game industry’s biggest event of the year – E3 2020 – but during these COVID times things have had to change. And this is where Ubisoft Forward comes in.
Ubisoft Forward was a two-hour summer celebration of all the upcoming games coming from Ubisoft. Here is everything that they announced.
The Pre-show
The show started with a deep dive into Trackmania, the racing franchise from Ubisoft Nadeo, all the while giving out codes for Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, The Division 2, and Far Cry New Dawn.
We then got a look at a number of indies by Ubisoft developers – Curious Expedition 2 by Mashinen-Mensch and Spiritfarer by Thunder Lotus.
Ubisoft also took a look at Mythic Quest, their live-action TV show on Apple TV+ about the developer of a massively popular video game starring Rob McElhenney. If you haven’t checked it out, it is surprisingly funny with an incredible cast.
The Crew 2 is getting some amazing 80s-themed DLC with Summer in Hollywood.
Ubisoft announced that the longest track – the Gigatrack – would be available to all players of Trials Rising on Thursday July 16th for free.
My biggest gripe with Ghost Recon: Breakpoint has been addressed! Starting July 15th, players will be able to have AI teammates join them in the game. The feature was wonderfully utilized in Ghost Recon: Wildlands but was absent when Breakpoint was released.
The Main Show
Watch Dogs Legion
The main show started off with a cinematic trailer (short film?) for their upcoming Watch Dogs Legion.
We were then treated to a gameplay trailer showcasing the whole “play as anyone” mechanic they have in the game.
Watch Dogs Legion will be released on October 29th, 2020 on the Playstation 4, Xbox One, and PC. Next gen consoles will receive the game at a later date, while Xbox’s Phil Spenser confirmed that Watch Dogs Legion would support Smart Delivery.
Brawlhalla
The free-to-play 2d fighter, Brawlhalla, will come out on mobile August 6th and will be getting crossplay with “everyone.”
Elite Squad
Elite Squad, the Tom Clancy mobile game got a trailer and a release date of August 27 . It has a very… Team Fortress feel….
Hyperscape
Ubisoft announced their take on the battle royale genre with Hyperscape. Think Mirror’s Edge but with more kinetic movement and awesome powers. Plus Twitch viewers can control various events in the game… which is just incredible.
The open beta for Hyperscape is available now for PC player on UPlay. I know we’re checking this out right now and you can find us playing it on our Twitch Channel – twitch.tv/geekswithkids.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
We finally got to see gameplay from the latest entry in the Assassin’s Creed franchise. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla are really digging deep into the Viking lifestyle.
Also you can recruit cats into your party. Yes… you can have raider cats… if that doesn’t say instant Game of the Year… well… then I don’t know what does…
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla will release on November 17th for Playstation 4, Xbox One, PC, and Stadia with next-gen console editions coming soon.
Far Cry 6
And finally the worst kept secret of this presentation, Ubisoft announced Far Cry 6 with an impressive cinematic trailer.
The game features Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad, The Mandalorian) as the big bad of the game. Far Cry 6 will release February 18th, 2021 on the Playstation 4, Playstation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, PC, and Stadia.
What was missing?
That was all she wrote for Ubisoft Forward, although CEO Yves Guillemot announced that another event would happen later this summer. Hopefully that means we’ll see Gods & Monsters, Beyond Good and Evil 2, and maybe even a new Division game.
All in all, a pretty good presentation. Looking forward to seeing more from Ubisoft.
