Skip to main content

Ubisoft cancels unannounced game, sends 3 years of work down the drain

Ubisoft has reportedly canceled an unannounced game even after three years of work on the project, amid what is said to be major changes within the company.

In since-deleted tweets, Ubisoft Montreal graphics programmer Louis de Carufel said that the project that he has been working on for the past three years was shut down. “This is tough news because I’ve been working with all these people for around 7 years, during which we have shipped both Watch Dogs and Watch Dogs 2.”

The project appeared to be a big one, as according to de Carufel, more than 200 people were on the team. Fortunately, none of them lost their job despite the cancellation of the unannounced game, as they were reassigned to one of the 15 current projects of the studio.

While de Carufel did not mention any specific details about the canceled game, Kotaku’s Jason Schreier shared pieces of information on the ResetEra forums. He said that the project was a new IP that was “Destiny-like,” and that there are “lots of big changes” happening at Ubisoft. Schreier clarified that de Carufel was not referring to Pioneer, the space exploration game that was teased within Watch Dogs 2, as that was shut down much earlier and its codename was used for Rainbow Six Quarantine.

The game will likely remain a mystery unless Ubisoft makes an official announcement, but the cause of the project’s cancellation is likely linked to the significant changes that the company is applying to its production processes after the disappointing performance of Ghost Recon Breakpoint.

Ubisoft’s CEO Yves Guillemot himself admitted that Ghost Recon Breakpoint had its fair share of issues, one of which was that the game did not have enough “differentiation factors.” Perhaps this is the main cause for the decision to pull the plug on the unannounced project, as being “Destiny-like” meant it would have also been similar to Ghost Recon Breakpoint as a looter shooter.

The review after Ghost Recon Breakpoint resulted in the studio’s decision to delay Gods & Monsters, Rainbow Six Quarantine, and Watch Dogs Legion to the second and third quarters of its 2020-2021 fiscal year. This places the release dates of the three AAA games between July 1 and December 31 next year.

Editors' Recommendations

Aaron Mamiit
Aaron received a NES and a copy of Super Mario Bros. for Christmas when he was 4 years old, and he has been fascinated with…
Ubisoft has every right to delete your games — even if it shouldn’t
The GOG Galaxy Mac app showing a library of games.

Everyone's mad at Ubisoft -- and for good reason.

For a moment, it certainly seemed like Ubisoft was not only shutting down inactive accounts, but also deleting games purchased on Steam. Now, not all of that ended up being true, but the controversy has been a not-so-gentle reminder that you don't actually own your games -- and technically, Ubisoft has every right to delete them if it so pleases.
You don't own your games
If you haven't caught wind of the fiasco, an anti-DRM (Digital Rights Management) Twitter user spotted an email circulating from Ubisoft that threatened to delete accounts on the Ubisoft PC app if they remained inactive. If you choose not to follow the link and keep your account safe, Ubisoft will remove your account. Oh, and it seemed like your games along with it.

Read more
Ubisoft will not attend E3 2023, but it will still host a summer live stream
Basim showing off his hidden blade.

Ubisoft will no longer be attending E3 2023, even though it said it would participate in February. Instead, the game publisher behind Assassin's Creed and Far Cry plans to hold its own Ubisoft Forward Live event in Los Angeles this June.
Ubisoft confirmed its change in plans to Video Games Chronicle today, with a spokesperson saying that while Ubisoft "initially intended to have an official E3 presence, we've made the subsequent decision to move in a different direction." This is a change in messaging from just over a month ago when Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot said, "If E3 happens, we will be there, and we will have a lot of things to show."
What caused this change of heart in Ubisoft is unclear. However, it seems like the company found that it could still successfully promote its game lineup without being attached to the Entertainment Software Association's event. We don't know much about the Ubisoft Forward Live event other than it'll take place on June 12 in Los Angeles, but Ubisoft tells VGC that "we look forward to sharing more details with our players very soon."
This puts E3 2023 in a weird overall spot, as we currently know more about the companies that won't be at the event -- like Microsoft, Ubisoft, and Nintendo -- than we do about the publishers that will actually be there. After being canceled in 2020 and 2022 and being digital-only in 2021, E3 2023 was supposed to be the annual gaming trade show's grand return. Right now, though, the relevance and viability of E3 2023 are questionable.
ReedPop has not yet commented on the fact that Ubisoft is no longer attending E3 2023. 

Read more
Ubisoft and more offer ways to play purchased Google Stadia games elsewhere
The protagonist of Assassin's Creed: Valhalla shouting in battle and wielding two axes.

Google recently announced that it plans to shutter its cloud gaming service Stadia in early 2023, leaving players who used it as one of their primary platforms in an awkward situation. Google already promised to refund people for their Google Stadia hardware and software purchases, but people are still losing access to games they enjoyed and save files they possibly dumped hours into. Thankfully, some developers are working on ways to help Stadia players.
The most notable studio to help Stadia players is Ubisoft, which was Google's earliest partner for the technology via an Assassin's Creed Odyssey demo. "While Stadia will shut down on January 18, 2023, we're happy to share that we're working to bring the games you own on Stadia to PC through Ubisoft Connect," Ubisoft tweeted. "We'll have more to share regarding specific details, as well as the impact for Ubisoft+ subscribers, at a later date." Thankfully, the Stadia versions of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Far Cry 6, Immortals Fenyx Rising, Tom Clancy’s The Division 2, and Watch Dogs: Legion support cross-progression, so players won't lose their save files. 
https://twitter.com/UbisoftSupport/status/1575922767593078793
Ubisoft isn't the only developer to help. Developer Muse Games is giving Embr Steam codes to those who played its comedic co-op firefighting game on Stadia if they email the developer with screenshots of Embr in their Stadia library. Meanwhile, IO Interactive confirmed that it is "looking into ways for you to continue your Hitman experience on other platforms," as the World of Assassination trilogy was available on Google Stadia. 
There's still the matter of the five Google Stadia exclusives: Gylt, Hello Engineer, Outcasters, Pac-Man Mega Tunnel Battle, and PixelJunk Raiders. So far, only one of those games seems like it will be saved. PixelJunk Raiders developer Q-Games said in a blog post that "we hope to find a way to continue to share the vibrant worlds of Planet Tantal in the future, and we’re open to discussing opportunities to find the right publishing partner to make it happen.. Tequila Works, tinyBuild, Splash Damage, and Bandai Namco Entertainment did not respond to requests for comment from Digital Trends.
While the shutdown of Google Stadia is disappointing for players like myself who enjoy cloud gaming, at least players will be get refunds, and in some cases get the game for a new platform.

Read more