Monday of E3 week has kicked off with Ubisoft $UBI and its E3 2017 Conference. The large French developer and publisher had a unique show, as it’s known to do, and always offers a diverse set of games. Plus surprises. Below is a rundown of projects it featured at its show, including a game that you might not have expected!
What It Showed:
Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle: The rumor is true, act surprised. The Nintendo Switch cross-over tactical RPG set in the Mushroom Kingdom will be out August 29th. (Yes, that’s a sentence I just wrote that I never thought I’d write.)
Assassin’s Creed Origins: Similar to what we saw at Microsoft’s conference yesterday. Ubisoft is showing a 30 minute gameplay reveal after its show, can post it later on. Again, launching October 27th.
The Crew 2: Second game in the open world, social racing game franchise. You can sign up for access to the beta testing run now at its website. Supposed to be releasing early next year.
South Park: The Fractured But Whole: October 17th. It’s a new South Park RPG. And it should be darn good!
Transference: “Enter the Home of a Mind.” Spring 2018. It’s a spooky virtual reality game. I don’t know what platforms, though.
Skull & Bones: Brand new game revealed. Many wanted a standalone pirate game after playing 2013’s Assassin’s Creed: IV Black Flag, and here it is. Made by Ubisoft Singapore, looks like a tactical open seas combat game. Set in a shared, systemic world that can be played single-player or co-op but mainly seems focused on competitive player-vs-player gameplay. Wondering what this means for Microsoft & Rare’s Sea of Thieves game that’s been featured at multiple E3’s, but I think these pirate games occupy different spaces in the market. Spring 2018.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAXJVkeBuGw
Just Dance 2018: As expected, another installment in Ubi’s long-running dance franchise. Note that this game is also coming out for Nintendo Wii. The Wii!
South Park Phone Destroyer: This is actually a cool, pleasant surprise to me from the show. A mobile South Park game, looks like turn-based combat and different character classes. I’d like to give it a try.
StarLink: Battle for Atlas: I’m almost certain this space game is code-name Pioneer, which was featured in 2016’s Watch Dogs 2 as a kind of easter egg trailer. It will have a toys-to-life tie in, might it be the next cool arcade style space simulation? Autumn 2018.
Steep Road to the Olympics: New expansion upcoming for the extreme winter sports game that released late last year.
Far Cry 5: Ubi showed off a tone piece trailer and then a more detailed gameplay section for open world, first person action shooter, seen above. Set in Montana, probably the most intriguing of the publisher’s lineup when it comes to its story and characters. February 2018 is when it’s out.
Beyond Good & Evil 2: And we’ve come to the surprise of the show. Follow-up to 2003’s Beyond Good & Evil, this is a game that’s been in development under secrecy for years and years. Made by Michel Ancel, this is the first we’ve heard from the long-rumored game that some people thought might not even exist. No word on release date or platforms, but I assume it’s PS4 and Xbox One but not releasing for another couple of years. At least.
What It Didn’t Show (Yet): Nothing from UbiArt engine. No real “smaller” indie-type of games. Which is unfortunate. Also, no Splinter Cell game, but of course that was my long-shot prediction again.
As you can see, Ubisoft had a strong showing of games and surprises. By my count, almost half of these were unannounced or hadn’t leaked prior to the show. Are you planning on playing any of these titles? Wish anything else was revealed that wasn’t at the show?
Stay tuned today, as the next conference up is Sony’s PlayStation event at 9 pm Eastern. Thanks!
-Dom