As far as E3 press conferences go, Ubisoft is rather inconsistent in terms of quality. Sometimes they aboslutely blow you away like in 2017 when they announced Beyond Good and Evil 2 with that awesome cinematic trailer. And sometimes, like last year, their conference is “meh”, with no big surprises or really anything exciting. This European gaming giant is home to some of the biggest franchises in gaming, and like all the other developers, they have an opportunity to make a big splash with Sony not appearing. They have already announce that 4 big AAA title will be released between now and March 2020, so I’m optimistic. Here’s my Ubisoft predictions and how they can “win” at E3 this year:
The Division 2 DLC announcement
The best-selling game of April, Tom Clancy’s The Divsion 2 has been received very well by both gaming critics and fans. And I’ll be the first to admit, I was wrong. In February, I wrote a blog saying how I thought ” this franchise is going to go down faster that Asa Akira goes down…” Yea, that was one of my funnier blogs. Go read it to see how right I was on most other games. But yes, I was wrong about The Division 2. And Ubisoft is reaping the rewards. We know there will be DLC soon for the game, so it makes sense to showcase it at E3. How do they win? I think they already are, and it doesn’t really matter what the DLC is as long as it looks like a Michael Bay film.
Confidence: 100%
Skull & Bones Gameplay Demo
Am I the only one who has no desire to play this game? I mean yea I’d love a pirate game and I absolutely loved Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, but I want more than naval warfare. I want to be able to board and plunder a ship. I want to force my prisoners to walk the plank or, even more brutally, sentence a prisoner to death via keelhauling. I want to invade a island, loot and plunder it, and burn it to the ground. That’s what a realistic pirate game should be like. Ubisoft has already delayed this game twice, which is never a good sign. To be honest, I’m not really sure there’s a way to win this announcement without showcasing some of the things I just mentioned. And we’ve already seen gameplay of Skull & Bones, so I really doubt there’s any way to save this game right now. Just release it and prepare for low sailes (lolololol). Also, this is AAA game #1 of 4 for the release window mentioned in the prologue.
Confidence: 95%
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Breakpoint Gameplay Trailer
AAA title #2 for the release window was announced a few weeks ago, and it looks beautiful. For me, I never really enjoyed the Ghost Recon series, but I know it has a large following and the addition of Jon Bernthal can only make it better. I mean, who better to portray a character with a severe mental breakdown from years of serving in the military other than The Punisher himself? The entire story seems like a ripoff of Call of Duty: Ghosts, but I really enjoyed that title so I may even give it a try when it comes out later this fall. I think no matter how the gameplay pans out, this is a win for Ubisoft due to the impressive graphics and recent hype.
Confidence: 100%
Beyond Good & Evil 2 Gameplay Trailer, release date for Fall 2020
The biggest surprise at Ubisoft’s 2017 E3 conference is nearing its release, and man I’m excited. This game is a win no matter way. It looks like the most beautiful game ever made, it’s got cool animal and human characters, the storyline seems awesome, and the gameplay previews we’ve seen so far make this look like a truly open world title. I wouldn’t be surprised if they announced a fall release this year, but something tells me they’d rather wait for next gen. Or they could pull a “The Last of Us” and release at the end of the current gen cycle, with a remastered version for next gen. Either way, it doesn’t really matter. This game is gonna make a huge splash the year its released, and looks like a GOTY lock.
Confidence: 100%
Just Dance 2020 Announcement
One thing had been a guarantee every year from Ubisoft: some weird dance number to announce the next title in the Just Dance series. I honestly don’t mind these games at all. Growing up, we used to play Just Dance 2 on Wii, and I still remember watching my youngest sister and my dad dance-off to SOS by Rihanna. What a time. But there’s no way to win with this announcement. Just make your money. Does Ubisoft consider this a AA title though? Because it’ll release in that window. I am going to assume yes, but I’ll throw out two predictions for new titles just in case.
Confidence: 90%
Watch Dogs 3 Announcement, coming this fall
I think regardless of whether Just Dance 2020 is considered a AAA title by Ubisoft, this game is revealed. It only takes 3 years to make a 10-20 hour AAA game and the last entry was released in 2016. Watch Dogs 2 was met with critical acclaim, and the timing seems right for the next title. I never played any of the Watch Dogs games but I’ve seen some top 10 lists recently that make me wonder if I missed out on an incredible game. I think if it’s announced it’s a win for Ubisoft, and I think it would be badass if they unite both protagonists from the first two games against a common enemy. Like Logan and Jake Paul. YES. God I would love that so much. Kill the two most annoying people on the internet in Watch Dogs 3. I’d be sold.
Confidence: 50%
New IP announced
There’s alot of people saying we’ll get a new Tom Clancy Splinter Cell, but with other Tom Clancy series already being released this year (The Division and Ghost Recon), I can’t imagine a third being the 4th AAA game. A new Far Cry is always an option but with Far Cry 5 and New Dawn being released the last 2 years, I think it’ll be 2021 before we see it again. And we already know from Ubisoft that Assassin’s Creed is skipping a year, so it won’t be that. My best guess would be Ubisoft is preparing a new IP. What could that be? Who knows! But as long as the setting is interesting, it’s a win.
Confidence: 30%
The Rest of the Show
With 7 announcements already predicted, I can’t imagine there’s room for much more. We may see a Nintendo Switch exclusive like how they made Mario + Rabbids. I definitely could see a Trials Rising DLC discussed. Rayman has been MIA for a little while so that’s always an option. And like many big developers, Ubisoft may announce a partnership with an indie studio and showcase one of their games. Putting it all together, I think Ubisoft will have an excellent conference this year, and there’s plenty of reasons to be excited for their presentation June 10th.
