Ubisoft delay Watch Dogs Legion, Rainbow Six Quarantine, and Gods & Monsters
Business galore!
Ubisoft have announced delays for hack 'em up Watch Dogs Legion, zombie spin-off Rainbow Six Quarantine, and the Zelda-lookin' Gods & Monsters, pushing their vague release windows deeper into 2020. They're now all due in Q2 or Q3 of Ubisoft's 2021 fiscal year, which in humanspeak means from July to December 2020.The blast of business news also included word that launch sales of Ghost Recon Breakpoint were "very disappointing" for Ubisoft. Alright everybody, tidy up those ties (full Windsor, please, we're not Wall Street animals) and open your Funfax to fiscal 2021.
Watch Dogs Legion, the cor blimey guv London version of Ubisoft's open-world hack-o-murder simulator, was due on March 6th, 2020. Our Alice Bee was quite impressed by its Virtualondon when she visited in August. Rainbow Six Quarantine was broadly due in 2020, and I guess now it's due later in 2020. It's a standalone spin-off from Siege's Outbreak event mode, pitting three-player squads against hordes of notzombies. And Gods & Monsters is the colourful open-world action-adventure game which we don't know much about but I've described as looking like something between Assassin's Creed and The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild" because I'm a monster. It was due on February 15th, 2020.
Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot said on the investor conference call that these delays weren't to avoided other games. They're not scared of Cyberpunk 2077 or owt, okay. More development time likely means more-polished games so good news for us.
Guiellmot added that along with these, their 2021 fiscal year (which starts April 1st, 2020) will bring "two additional AAAs from our biggest franchises". So that's probably Assassin's Creed, and, what, Rabbids? Ah sure, it'll probably be Far Cry, but what if it were Far Cry: Raving Rabbids? I adore those daffy rabbits.
Guillemot mentioned they're also pushing wheelsport Roller Champions and multiplayer sandbox pirate Skull & Bones back a bit for more development time.
In other business, he said that Ghost Recon Breakpoint's sales at launch were "very disappointing", having expected so much more from a game which basically does the usual open-world stuff. Actually, Guillemot says, the game was "strongly rejected by a significant portion of the community" because it changed the formula of 2017's Wildlands too much. He did note that the game didn't stand out enough, mind. And recognised that for a 'live' game supported post-launch with updates and improvements, it's harder to generate interest in a sequel coming soon after. Which all together broadly means it put off current fans while failing to attract new ones. Welp.
Alright, that's it. We'll break for three hours for lunch. We've champagne and nibbles in Reception Room 6, a sedated cow in Canteen B to shave off your own blue steak, and nose candy and banter in the bogs. See you bloody legends at 3pm to continue smashing it.