Ubisoft has hosted their annual E3 press conference. Taking centre stage for the 2018 presentation were some highly anticipated titles, which will provide a look into the past in very different ways.
Beyond Good & Evil 2
After the colourful opening, fans got a fresh look at Beyond Good & Evil 2, First announced during last year’s event, this year saw the debut of pre-alpha gameplay footage and a cinematic trailer.
Set in the 24th century, players will join Pey’j on board a spaceship – where he serves as the chef – which is heading for the city of Ganesha when it is apprehended by a mysterious warship. After a brief encounter, the warship’s crew are revealed, with original protagonist Jade seemingly their leader. More details about the game will be revealed at the special BGFest event, to be held in Montpelier later this year.
In a surprise move, the game’s developers were joined on stage by actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who announced that his production company, HitReCord, will be partnering with Ubisoft to assist in the creation of audio and art for the game, with the help of the gaming community as a whole. This will be accomplished via a series of projects – available to view on the HitRECord website – where people are being urged to collaborate on everything from sacred murals to street graffiti and even original songs and radio adverts.
Looking Ahead
As with other conferences, Ubisoft gave fans a host of teasers and previews for upcoming games and new content:
- Just Dance 2019 was unveiled with a colourful live performance to open the show, with a release set for October
- The Rainbow Six Siege documentary, Another Mindset, focusing on the game’s fanbase and community was announced for August. The dates and locations for three tournament events were also announced, with the Paris Major set for August while the Pro League Finals will be heading Brazil in November and, finally, the 6th Rainbow Six Siege Invitational bound for Montreal in early 2019.
- A new Trials title, Trials Rising was unveiled, with a launch set for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC and for the first time Nintendo Switch for February 2019. Players will be able to register online for the Closed Beta, which is scheduled for later in the year.
- A second live performance accompanied the latest trailer for Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle’s upcoming Donkey Kong Adventure expansion, set for release later this month, with composer Grant Kirkhope joined by Critical Hit for the performance.
- A new cinematic trailer for Skull & Bonus revealed the game’s location as the Indian Ocean, as well as the first look at some of the characters, ships and combat styles players will be able to enjoy. It was also announced the developers will be holding an open beta, which players can register for now.
- SpectreVision’s co-founder, Elijah Wood, was joined by Director Benoit Richer for a new look at VR title Transference. The psychological thriller, set for an autumn release, focuses on a family in turmoil, with inner turmoil brought to the surface with a mix of live-action footage and gameplay.
- Starlink: Battle for Atlas debuted a new story trailer and was confirmed for an October 16 launch. Players on Nintendo Switch will also be able to play as characters from the Star Fox universe, with Ubisoft head Yves Guillemot confirming the exclusive content while also presenting a special model to Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto, who made a surprise appearance at the event.
- A new faction will be arriving in the world of For Honor. Launching in October, the Marching Fire expansion will bring the Chinese Wu Lin faction to the battlefield with four new fighters for players to choose from. The pack will also add a new 4v4 castle siege – Breach. It was also announced that the For Honor: Starter Edition will be available for free via Uplay on PC for a limited time.
- Ahead of the release of The Crew 2 on June 29, Brand Officer Delphine Dosset announced that there would be an open beta on all platforms on June 21, with the game available for preloading now via the official website.
The Division 2
Next up for Ubisoft was a more in-depth look at Tom Clancy’s The Division 2, with more details being revealed about the game’s setting, timeline and features.
Set in the months after a smallpox outbreak wiped out a significant number of the population, players must find the “seeds of society” and save the nation’s capital Washington DC. As a city on the brink of collapse, players are Division agents sent in to make sure the last pockets of society remain in place before it is too late.
In addition to the first look of the story, it was also announced that there would be three episodic DLC releases for Year One of the game, featuring new items, maps and other in-game content. The Division 2 will also feature a new eight-player Raids mode for intense multiplayer combat.
Another Odyssey
Rounding out the event was the first full look at Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. Set during the Peloponnesian War between Greece and Sparta, players will have the choice of playing as either Alexios or Kassandra, a mercenary of Spartan descent who was sentenced to death by their own family. Playing as your chosen character for the entire game, players will travel all across Ancient Greece as they try and find their place in the world and find out the truth about their bloodline and ties to the legendary Spartan king, Leonidas.
With new dialogue choice systems and evolving character interactions, players will be able to interact with this tumultuous period of history like never before. Players were shown a small example of this with a live gameplay demo, with Kassandra travelling to Mykonos on the lookout for the warrior Theocles. To conclude, Ubisoft confirmed that the game would be released on October 5 this year, with preorder for all editions available now.
Information on all the games featured can be found at https://www.ubisoft.com/en-gb/
Watch the presentation in full below.
Words by Megan Roxburgh