Ubisoft was a class act at this year’s E3, starting with the Assassins Creed Orchestra’s goosebump-inducing rendition of some of the franchise’s most famous music. Yes the orchestra is a real thing, and it’s even touring worldwide, starting June 29th this year.
You can find all the dates, locations and other information at https://assassinscreedsymphony.com/.
Goosebumps aside, sadly there was no information about the next instalment in the AC franchise for 2020, so fans will just have to wait a little longer for this.
There was, however, plenty of information about their other franchises – in particular, Watch Dogs, Rainbow Six Siege and Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 – and the introduction of their brand new PC subscription service called Uplay Plus.
Building A Resistance With Watch Dogs Legion
“We’re building a resistance, one recruit at a time”.
Taking on heavily armed police and flying drones by yourself to save someone else. Check. Running, jumping and hiding. Check. Messy car chases. Check. Must be Watch Dogs.
Ubisoft featured lengthy gameplay and trailers on their new game in the franchise, Watch Dogs Legion which is set for release on the 6th March 2020.
The game is set is London in the near but distinctly dystopian future in which the city has become a surveillance state under the control of a less than benevolent group.
You are tasked with recruiting a force of popular resistance fighters for the heroes, Dedsec.
Although this sounds like a fairly familiar concept, how you go about this is the unique and breathtaking part of the game: you can recruit and then play as whoever you like in London.
Play As Anyone
Just stop and think about that for a minute.
Ubisoft has created a world in which you can play as any character you see – from streetwise criminals and bare-knuckle boxers to former spies and little old ladies – all with completely unique personalities, voices, backgrounds.
This is a massive step forward for the Watch Dogs franchise and has positive implications for the game’s re-playability.
Rainbow Six Siege’s Operation Phantom Sight
Ubisoft’s showcase on Operation Phantom Sight featured the launch trailer highlighting the two new operators, Nøkk and Warden.
The update is scheduled for release tomorrow, with anyone with the Year Four pass, able to access the new characters straight away, and other players will be given access through in-game currency in a week’s time.
The update is also expected to introduce new gameplay improvements including an upgrade of the Reverse Friendly Fire feature.
3 Player Coop PVE in Rainbow Six Quarantine
In addition to Phantom Sight, Ubisoft also announced Rainbow Six Quarantine, which is a new type of game for the franchise.
The trailer and developer announcement featured a 3 player squad PVE experience, with gameplay centered around the squad saving a teammate from a mysterious parasitic enemy.
The game will be released in early 2020 for PC, PS4 and Xbox One.
Jake, Finn and Princess Bubblegum Coming To Brawlhalla
Blue Mammoth Game’s 2D fighting game, Brawlhalla, will be seeing three new playable characters from Adventure Time – Jake, Finn and Princess Bubblegum. The update featuring the characters is available from today.
New Trailer For Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint
Ubisoft also released a new trailer for its upcoming game, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint.
The trailer featured the work of actor Jon Bernthal (playing as the game’s bad guy Colonel Cole D. Walker and leader of the Wolves), and he appeared on stage to talk about his work with the game.
Ghost Recon Breakpoint will be available on 5th October this year, and will run on PS4, Xbox One, Google Stadia, and PC.
Ghost Recon: Breakpoint Community Program
Ubisoft also announced a new program for the game called Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Delta Company, which is essentially a Community Leaders Program and will allow chosen members to share feedback with developers, ideas and participate in a community online.
Tom Clancy’s RPG On Mobile
Ubisoft have also announced a new mobile game coming for iOS and Android called Tom Clancy’s Elite Squad.
This will be a free to play RPG strategy game, allowing fans of the Tom Clancy games such as Rainbow Six Siege and The Division the ability to collect their favorite characters from the franchises and deploy a five man squads against a PVE campaign, in PVP arena or in Guild Wars.
Preregister now at elitesquadgame.com to unlock an exclusive character – Ghost Recon Breakpoint’s Cole D. Walker – in the game.
Just Dance 2020
With much fanfare and, of course, on stage dancing, Ubisoft announced Just Dance 2020.
The game will be available on Xbox One, PS4, Wii, Nintendo Switch on 5th November this year, with the Google Stadia release still to be announced and the song list so far is as follows:
- God Is a Woman – Ariana Grande
- Skibidi – Little Big
- Vodovorot – XS Project
- Bangarang – Skrillex Ft. Sirah
- Con Calma – Daddy Yankee Ft. Snow
- Bad Boy – Riton & Kah-Lo
- High Hopes – Panic! At The Disco
- Kill This Love – BLACKPINK
- Sushi – Merk & Kremont
- I Like It – Cardi B, Bad Bunny & J Balvin
- Policeman – Eva Simons Ft. Konshens
- Rain Over Me – Pitbull Ft. Marc Anthony
The Division 2 Episode 1 and 2 Announced
The Division 2 is getting two new episodes, Episode 1 and 2. Episode 1, coming in July this year, takes place in the rural regions outside the city of D.C. in places as diverse as the National Zoo, woodlands and a presidential compound.
Episode 2, which will be released in Fall this year, takes place at the Pentagon and there will also be a new raid included in this content. This raid will bring back the intense 8 player action seen in the last raid.
Episode 3 was also mentioned briefly with the ominous phrase, “humanity is at stake”. This will be released in early 2020.
Finally, Ubisoft announced that they are partnering with Netflix on a The Division movie, with more details to be released in the future.
Ubisoft’s New PC Subscription Service Uplay Plus
In a year when subscription models in the gaming world have become sexy, Ubisoft announced its foray into the area with Uplay Plus for PCs.
For $14.99 a month, players will get access to new Ubisoft titles, including premium editions, DLC and other extra content offered.
If you sign up during the next two months (until 15th August), however, you’ll get free access from 3rd September and the 30th September.
At launch, over 100 games will be available on the service, including flagship titles such as Watch Dogs: Legion. In 2020 it is expected that the service it’ll be available on Stadia.
Roller Champions E3 Demo Free To Play
The demo of Roller Champions, Ubisoft’s upcoming sports title, will be free to download and try out from the 10th June to the 14th June.
Gods And Monsters
The exciting new project from the Quebec team behind Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, Gods and Monsters, was announced for the 25th February next year.
Unfortunately not much else was revealed, except the game trailer looks pretty, and it will involve heroes, monsters, and, yes, gods.
What Do You Think?
Ubisoft showed a bunch of really interesting games and updates at E3 2019, but the Uplay+ announcement seems to really be the crown jewel of their presentation.
Were there any games or updates that stood out for you?
Can you see yourself paying $15/mth for access to all of the Ubisoft Premium Titles and DLCs?
We’re keen to hear what you have to say, so leave a comment below!
