We are knee-deep in the season of video game preview streams. Ubisoft Forward 2023 showed there are two major themes running through the upcoming games from the publisher of Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry.
These are large, expansive games based on some of entertainment’s biggest brands, and a look back into the past for Ubisoft’s longest-running series.
Let’s start with the big-brand tie-ins. We got to see an extended gameplay video of Star Wars: Outlaws, the first-ever open-world Star Wars game, according to Ubisoft.
The graphics are beautiful, and the 10-minute trailer shows a mix of stealthy gameplay, open-world roaming on a speeder bike, space flight, and combat, with cinematic storytelling interludes.
Star Wars: Outlaws packs a lot in.
You play as Kay Vess in Star Wars Outlaws, a thief who has not appeared in Star Wars films, shows, or games before.
Star Wars Outlaws is coming to Xbox consoles, PS5, and PC in 2024.
Avatar is the other big brand Ubisoft game coming our way. Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is, just like Outlaws, an open-world title.
It’s a first-person action adventure, packed with the sort of lush landscapes expected of a game based in the world of James Cameron’s Avatar. It’s sure to attract comparisons to long-running Ubisoft series Far Cry, and is out in December for PS5, Xbox Series consoles, and PC.
This will be only the second major console game based on the Avatar series, after 2009’s Avatar: The Game, despite both of the films being in the top three highest-grossing films of all time alongside Avengers: Endgame.
The other side of Ubisoft Forward 2023 concerns two of the publisher’s long-term series, Prince of Persia and Assassin’s Creed.
Assassin’s Creed: Mirage is the latest entry in a family of games that has been around for 16 years. Early indications suggest Ubisoft is looking back into its earlier years to reclaim what made Assassin’s Creed popular in the first place.
There appears to be less bounding over huge environments at speed, and more actual assassinations and jumping through cramped streets in order to escape from enemies. Assassin’s Creed is set in Baghdad, and is due out on October 12.
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown also represents a return to the roots of a classic gaming series. It is a two-dimensional platformer, just like the original Prince of Persia from 1989.
Prince of Persia games have predominantly been 3D since 2003’s Prince of Persia: Sands of Time. While a remake of that 3D title has been in the works for several years, there has not been a Prince of Persia game released since 2013.
Prince of Persia: The Lost of Crown is due for release on January 18, 2024, for PC and consoles, including the older generation of PS4 and Xbox One boxes.
Ubisoft also announced a string of lower-profile projects at Forward 2023. These include VR title Assassin’s Creed Nexus for Meta Quest 2, and a beta for the long-awaited action-adventure Skull and Bones. It runs from August 25 to August 28, and you can sign up for access over at the Ubisoft website.
