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E3 2021: Ubisoft Forward 2021

12 June, 2021 - 4:15 pm by
About 11 mins to read

Ubisoft are officially kicking E3 2021 off this year with their Ubisoft Forward presentation at 20.00 BST. Here we’ll have the latest information about the presentation, what went down and what was announced. We intended this post to go out at 19.00 in time for their pre-show warm up, but like Nintendo we’ve pressed the go button early.

Below is the Ubisoft live stream which will start with a preshow at 19.00 BST and the show kicking off an hour later.

What we know / best guesses / rumours

We know there will be some form of Watchdogs Legion DLC announcement and a look at Far Cry 6. Tom Clancy will make a couple of appearances with numerous games in active development.

We’d expect Just Dance to make an appearance in an abrupt fashion. We wouldn’t expect a new Assassin’s Creed as Ubi are trying to taper the annual revisions, but we could get some DLC or a remake of the first game. Speaking of remakes, the Prince of Persia Sands of Time remake which was panned back in January is likely to be ready to be reintroduced to the world. It also wouldn’t surprise us if For Honor made it’s way to PS5/Xbox Series consoles. Ubisoft have been supporting the game with regular updates since 2017. Normally we’d stick our neck out and say it’ll be a sequel but with the console shortages likely to continue until the end of the year, the best guess is a next gen patch with a sequel to be revealed next year.

Thanks to the below *ahem* update *ahem*, our rumour mill has two titles left on the table for Ubiforward – Beyond Good And Evil 2. It feels like aeons ago when the swear-y trailer was released and the game has been dark ever since. With Far Cry, Assassin’s Creed and Watch Dogs all out in the wild, there’s only really one big game that people are waiting on. We’d hazard a guess that the reveal will have a date to tide people over too, but we don’t have any insider knowledge so this is all speculation for ‘fun’.

Finally, let’s talk Rayman. Someone has to as Ubisoft seems to have forgotten about him since the spectacular Rayman Legends which was released back in 2013(!). We’re throwing it up as our wildcard because we don’t think anything will happen, however with the success of the Crash and Spyro remakes, Ubisoft are probably looking at the old PS1 classics and seeing dollar signs.

What actually happened

Here are all of the updates from the Ubisoft Forward presentation, with the latest news at the top.

Avatar Frontiers of Pandora

In an end of conference twist, Ubisoft pulled out the surprise announcement that they are working on Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, a video game tie-in to James Cameron’s Avatar. Due out in 2022 on next generation consoles and PC, the game is a first person adventure set in the lands of Western Pandora, an area that has yet to be explored in any franchise lore. Details are light on the ground but from the trailer, it ticks a lot of boxes from the film; large aerial sequences, mech fighters and a big pretty tree. We’ll learn more in the coming months but we’re hoping it doesn’t suffer from Avatar 2 syndrome and be delayed for an eternity.

Far Cry 6 Season Pass Details

We’ve known that Far Cry 6 will be launching across PlayStation 5, PC, Xbox Series X|S as well as PS4 & Xbox One on 7th October 2021. Ubisoft took the time to release a new cinematic for the game but go into detail their season pass, and it looks like an interesting concept. Rather than add onto the existing game, players will be able to take on the roles of previous villains throughout the series. You’ll get to play as Vaas, Pagan and Joseph through a twisted story mode.

This forms part of the season pass, so can be obtained by preordering the Gold & Ultimate editions but will not release with the base game. Also included in the season pass will be a remastered version of Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon. A nice little extra

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla

During Ubiforward, the team working on Assassin’s Creed Valhalla announced that there will not be a new entry into the series this year, however they will continue to support the best selling game in the series with another year’s worth of content. There will be free updates including more Viking mythology and history to uncover as well as a paid DLC coming next year called Siege of Paris.

It’s surprising that Ubisoft are continuing their support of an Assassin’s Creed game beyond the first year release, however the team has been blown away by the support of this entry.

Just Dance 2022

We love E3 time just to see how Ubisoft will announce the next Just Dance entry. This year, it was a slightly more subdued reveal but in November, players will have access to 40 new songs including: Believer by Imagine Dragons, Level Up by Ciara & Nails, Hair, Hips, Heels by Just Dance cover star Todrick Hall. This will be an exclusive Just Dance version with choreography created by Todrick Hall. Also returning is the Just Dance Unlimited live service which now has over 700 songs to jig away too.

Just Dance 2022 will launch across Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4 & PC on 4th November.

Riders Republic

Riders Republic, the game that encompasses all the niche extreme sports too small for their own games has been re-revealed with a release date of 2nd Septemeber on PC, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5 and legacy consoles. You’ll be able to snowboard, take flight in wingsuits and BMX down mountains in a crazy, x-games on steroids experience.

As you take on missions to make your name in the extreme sports world, you’ll be taking on up to 50 players in glorious 4K & 60FPS gameplay. There are 6 different sports to try to clave your name and these can be played either in solo or multiplayer modes. The vast open world will provide a seemless experience and will lead into different environments from barren deserts, to snowy mountain peaks. Riders Republic looked fun when it was revealed back in 2019 but now it’s shaping up to be one heck of a great time.

Rocksmith+

After the incredible support Ubisoft have shown the Rocksmith community since the first game back in 2011, the team in San Francisco has created Rocksmith+. The game aims to teach players how to play guitar and will launch across PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S. The game features improved note tracking and better lessons to help players improve.

Rocksmith+ will also implement the use of a phone app to be used as a microphone and to give real time feedback straight to your device. It’ll pick up the sounds of your acoustic, electric or bass guitar to play along with the music on screen. For those worried about input delays, thankfully the real tone cable from previous games can also be plugged into the console/pc via USB which will help.

Instead of paying for optional weekly DLC, Rocksmith+ will be a live subscription service costing approx £100 per year. This will give players access to master recordings of 1000s of artists and the ability to improvise your own flourishes onto these songs and upload them for the community to enjoy. £100 a year is a lot of money to access content most players won’t be interested in. Looking at Ubisoft’s page, Rocksmith+ requires an internet connection at all times but doesn’t specify if the game has a list of songs you can learn like previous titles. We suspect the developers are looking at feedback before announcing further details. Rocksmith+ is due out this year but no release window given.

Rainbow Six Extraction

Kicking off the show we have Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Extraction. Which will be gracing PlayStation 5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One & PC on 16th September. It features a group of “Operators” who are running missions to wipe out an alien invasion.

That’s right, aliens. Goopy ones too. The game runs much like Rainbow Six Siege, you chose a team of up to three to co-operatively work with to complete set missions. This can be done online or for those old school people, in solo play. There will be 10 types of parasitic aliens, known as ArchÆans, each with their own unique skills and attributes to look out for. Most are hive minded so have to be taken out quickly or they’ll converge on your location.

Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope – Coming to Switch 2022

Oops! Looks like somone pulled the trigger on this one early. A webpage for Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope, has gone live on the official Nintendo website a few hours early. It has been taken down but not before we got our mitts on the screenshots and some information on the game.

Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope is a sequel to the 2017 turn-based tactical RPG Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle. Releasing exclusively for the Nintendo Switch in 2022, Sparks of Hope will take Mario and the team into space as they race across the galaxy to rescue creatures known as Sparks. These will give you specific power-ups to help you move through the game.