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Though Quarantine might be due a name change
Ah, earnings calls. They are mostly boring and investors asking about big numbers, but occasionally they reveal some interesting titbits about game developers' and publishers' plans. In Ubisoft’s quarterly earnings call yesterday, they talked about how they want to be less reliant on big AAA games, and instead want to put more focus on free-to-play games. They also mentionedRainbow Six QuarantineandFar Cry 6will be coming out this year, and even briefly touched on the new Star Wars game they’re making with Lucasfilm Games - though the details are still very hush-hush.
“In fiscal 2022 [which starts April 2021], we will continue our evolution from a AAA release-centric model toward a model where AAA stands alongside new premium and free-to-play innovative experiences across platforms,” said CFO Frederick Duguet.
So, they’re not abandoning the big story games, just trying to capitalise on the live service stuff that they can support for longer periods of time. They mentionBrawlhalla, which they say has been pretty successful, andHyper Scape, which has been less so (one investor threw some shade calling it “not a failure, but…") and that they’re learning from those games. As for free-to-play things in the works,Roller Championsis on the way sometime this year, and they’re continuing to add things to Rainbow Six Siege and The Division 2 as well.
Top 10 New PC Games For February 2021Watch on YouTube
Top 10 New PC Games For February 2021
From the sounds of things, they’re considering a name change Quarantine too, seeing as it’s not the most tactful thing to call a game to have in the midst of a global pandemic.
“It is something we are evaluating, and we’ll see what comes in the future,” CEO Yves Guillemot said.
Ubisoft also touched onthe open-world Star Wars game they’re making with Lucasfilm, though they’re extremely quiet on the details. One investor seemed keen on finding out a rough release year, though Ubi simply responded that “the game is at an early stage of development, and so we have to wait a bit before telling you more about timings”.
Elsewhere in Ubisoft land,SSX-esque sports game Riders RepublicandPrince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time Remake have both been delayeduntil “later this year”. What I’m getting from all this is that they just really don’t want to announce any release dates. Though I suppose it’s understandable, it’s been a weird year with tons of game delays, committing to more dates they couldn’t meet might just make people more annoyed.
