Saturday began the proper kickoff of E3 2021, shortly followed by Ubisoft’s press conference.
The company’s big debut for the year was Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, the long-in-development open-world Avatar Game being cooked up by Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 developer Ubisoft Massive.
It’s been a rough year for the international publisher, which saw its leadership accused of participating in and covering up an array of sexual, verbal, and physical harassment at the company.
None of that was on display during the company’s press conference (that came from a statement a few weeks ago), but here’s a rundown of the major announcements from the company at E3 2021:
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Extraction
Developer/Publisher: Ubisoft
Release Date: September 16th
Previously announced as Rainbow Six: Quarantine, the latest Rainbow Six title had to undergo a name change after COVID-19 sent the world into actual quarantine. The sometimes sci-fi-tinged special ops series is venturing into Left 4 Dead territory (with a max of 3 players), allowing players to team up to fight zombie-like alien parasites using the characters of Rainbow Six: Siege.
Rocksmith+
Developer/Publisher: Ubisoft
Release Date: Summer/Autumn 2021
Did you remember that Ubisoft developed guitar-teaching software? Rocksmith+, the newest version of Rocksmith, got an exceptional amount of screen time during Ubisoft’s press conference. It’ll be interesting to see if the boasted expanded music library runs into any issues with the music industry’s onslaught of DMCA takedowns on Twitch and YouTube.
Riders Republic
Developer/Publisher: Ubisoft
Release Date: September 2nd
Announced in 2020, Ubisoft’s extreme sports game got a fresh gameplay trailer and release date.
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege – Crossplay, Cross-Progression
Developer/Publisher: Ubisoft
A quick note here—Ubisoft announced that Rainbow Six: Siege would be getting not just cross-play, but cross-progression, meaning you can play the game on any platform, and your progress/rewards will follow you from each platform.
Just Dance 2022
Developer/Publisher: Ubisoft
Release Date: November 4th
A reminder that Ubisoft makes so much money from its Just Dance franchise, debuting its new edition with artist/choreographer Todrick Hall. It’ll also be the first Just Dance title to not be published on the Nintendo Wii. (Ubisoft has been supporting the platform for a number of years.)
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: DLC, Discovery Mode
Developer/Publisher: Ubisoft
Release Date: Fall 2021
Alongside a new set of DLC, Ubisoftt announced a Discovery mode of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla—the latest in a series of free, history-driven, exploration modes for the game that reuse the game’s open world to teach players about real history.
Far Cry 6
Developer/Publisher: Ubisoft
Release Date: October 2021
Ubisoft continued its rollout of press for the unpolitical-then-political Far Cry 6, and today debuted a season pass that includes playable versions of older villains as well as a remaster of Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon.
Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope
Developer/Publisher: Ubisoft
Release Date: 2022
Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle, Ubisoft’s surprise collaboration with Nintendo (that’s also an X-COM-like turn-based strategy game), gets a sequel in Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope. This one seems to have a bit more Super Mario Galaxy in its DNA.
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora
Developer/Publisher: Ubisoft
Release Date: 2022
Ubisoft’s game based on Avatar, the 2008 movie by James Camron, finally debuted to the world. The teaser showed off what appeared to be an open-world action adventure set in the film’s world, with players taking the role of a new Na’vi character.