Ubisoft Forward at E3 2021 — Top 5 Announcements from AAA Studio

By Jayden Eppcohen / Contributing Writer

Kicking off E3 on Saturday June 12 was the Ubisoft Forward press conference, where the hit publisher unveiled a baker’s dozen of new releases and announcements. Here’s our top 5 most anticipated announcements from the Ubisoft panel. 

Ubisoft led the press conference with their first trailer for “Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora.” It promises an exciting and visually stunning action-adventure game based in the world of James Cameron’s “Avatar.” The first-look trailer included visuals of the world’s stunning flora and fauna. 

The game, developed by Ubisoft Massive,  will use the same Snowdrop engine which powers other titles such as “The Division 2.” Though other details are slim, judging by the trailer it can be assumed there will be an open-world, similar to the “Far Cry” series, as well as a seemingly first person perspective. 

It is currently slated for release in 2022 for PS5, Xbox Series X, Stadia, and PC.

A collaboration between Ubisoft and Nintendo, “Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope” is a sequel to the 2017 “Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle.” The charming fusion featured turn-based strategic gameplay, using up to 3 “heroes” from the Mario Bros. roster to battle against monsters and bosses across a galactic journey. 

“Sparks of Hope” is set to release sometime in 2022, exclusively for the Nintendo Switch. 

Ubisoft unveiled their season pass for the upcoming “Far Cry 6,” set for release in October 2021. The DLC in the pass will allow players to play as the antagonists from prior “Far Cry” installments’ such as “Vaas” from “Far Cry 3.”

According to the official description, “players will delve into the minds of these infamous antagonists, uncover their backstories, battle their inner demons, and reunite with familiar faces in a brand new [‘roguelite’] gameplay experience.” 

Also included in the season pass is a remastered version of “Far Cry: Blood Dragon,” the spooflike standalone DLC. “Far Cry 6” will be released later this year on October 7. 

The next DLC for the award-winning “Assassin Creed Valhalla,” “Siege of Paris” puts players in control of Elvior as they command their vikings towards the French capital Paris, in the “most ambitious battle in Viking History.”

New abilities, weapons, and the return of infiltration missions were also showcased, alongside a new non-combat Discovery Tour in Norway and England. “Siege of Paris” follows “Wrath of the Druids” as the second DLC for “Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla,” and is set to release sometime this summer. 

Ubisoft continued to show post-launch support for “Rainbow Six Siege” in its sixth year since release, promising support for Crossplay and Cross-Progression. Crossplay will initially be between PC, Stadia and Amazon Luna in early 2022, though other platforms may be available at a later date. 

A gameplay trailer for “Rainbow 6: Extraction” was also aired, showing a squad of operators infiltrating and taking down groups of monstrous enemies in the new PvE expansion for “Rainbow 6.” Extraction is set to launch on September 16. 

Ubisoft also had several other announcements during their three hour press conference, such as a trailer and release date for “Werewolves Within,” an R rated horror film based on Ubisoft’s popular 2016 VR release of the same name, to be aired in theaters on June 25th. 

We received a confirmed release date for “Riders Republic” of September 2, alongside a new trailer for the open world multiplayer stunt game showing players competing in sports like biking, snowboarding, and even gliding in wingsuits.

“Just Dance 2022” has been confirmed to release November 4, which will feature 40 new songs added to the franchise. 

Finally, we received a new announcement for “Rocksmith+,” a subscription-based guitar learning experience based on Ubisoft’s franchise allowing users to learn chords with an electric guitar via USB. 

Though Ubisoft didn’t have the most to announce this E3, fans of the studio are sure to be excited for the new releases and continued support for their favorite games.