E3 2021 is well underway, with new announcements and information popping up left and right for all the hottest upcoming games. Ubisoft itself presented several examples of upcoming games a few days ago, with a number of reveals and surprises for gamers to look forward to. While the showcase featured many highlights like a new trailer for Riders Republic, there remained a number of glaring omissions from the presentation.
Ubisoft is home to many continuing franchises and new IP's, and with so many projects in active development, its understandable that not everything can be squeezed into the roughly hour-long show time. However, a good number of the Ubisoft titles absent from this year's showing are quite concerning, especially since most of them haven't received significant updates in quite some time. Hopefully things for these development teams are progressing smoothly, and news will be shared when it is ready and in a proper state to do so. That being said, these games were sorely missed during the recent show.
Ubisoft's Beyond Good & Evil 2
First announced all the way back in 2008, then going dormant until a "second" reveal during Ubisoft's E3 2017 conference, Beyond Good & Evil 2 has been a long time coming. With a lengthy production time now rivaling the development of Duke Nukem Forever, it is understandable for players interested in this title to be growing anxious for its current status.
Beyond Good & Evil 2 looks to be quite an ambitious experience from the tech demos released most recently, with the player able to traverse massive environments and even leave a planet's atmosphere entirely. Even with the four years that have passed since the E3 2017 trailer, fans may want to hold their breath on the game's current status. According to information in a recent interview, Beyond Good & Evil 2 is years away.
Ubisoft's Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake
Although it was already confirmed by Ubisoft prior to the show, it is still odd that The Sands of Time skipped E3 2021. Fans have been clamoring for a new Prince of Persia game for years, and E3 was the perfect stage to tease fans on the game's visual fidelity, even if the game in question was a remake of a pre-existing title.
After its reveal at Ubisoft Forward last September, the game was delayed in order for the team to better polish the experience. However, after yet another delay and now choosing not to attend E3, questions have been raised for just how well this project is moving along. Perhaps the remake is much more expansive than anticipated, unless Ubisoft has returned to the drawing board for a much bigger project than initially anticipated.
Ubisoft's Roller Champions
First announced during Ubisoft's E3 2019 showcase, Roller Champions is a 3v3 multiplayer sports game played from a third person perspective. The fast-paced nature of the game draws some comparison to the gameplay in Rocket League, but this is a positive thing as it seemed to already spark interest within a certain demographic.
Unfortunately, not much else is known outside this initial reveal for the game. There was a pre-alpha demo released not long after its reveal, but beyond that, there has not been a peep regarding the current status of the game. With a tentative release date still set for 2021, its unclear whether or not Roller Champions can indeed roll past the finish line in time, or receive a development delay.
Ubisoft's Skull and Bones
Seemingly unsatisfied with its already impressive pirate-themed efforts with Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag, Ubisoft is diving back into the life of a buccaneer with Skull and Bones. Also revealed in 2017 alongside Beyond Good & Evil 2, this swashbuckling adventure had grown increasingly quiet over the years. It's initial reveal seemed to be aiming to build on the gameplay in Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag, with improvements being made to sea navigation and naval combat.
Earlier this year, it was rumored that Skull and Bones has restarted development, even after all the years that had passed. If true, this would obviously sink any hope of seeing it at E3 this year. If returning to the drawing board is necessary, then the studio should take as much time as it needs. Still, it would have been nice to just get a quick update, something simple and short to confirm that the game is still on the radar/compass.
Ubisoft's Star Wars Game
Switching from the wide open sea to the grand reaches of outer space, Ubisoft's recently announced Star Wars game was also missing from E3 this year. This example is a bit more understandable as to why it was not present at the show. Ubisoft's Star Wars game was revealed just at the beginning of the year, and with development likely still very early on, much work likely remains to be done until something substantial can be presented to fans.
Furthermore, the team working on the game is Massive Entertainment (The Division), who was also revealed to be working on the newly announced Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora. To be making two massive open-world games, back-to-back, must be a massive undertaking for the studio. Even so, a brief tease would have been enough to generate a great deal of hype. After all, combining a brand like Star Wars with a prolific company like Ubisoft is more than enough to turn heads.