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Tag: Ubisoft

  • Ubisoft Is Adrift And Some Developers Are Fed Up

    An Ubisoft developer I chatted with back in 2022 was feeling pretty jealous. Elden Ring had just come out and was blowing people away. Despite FromSoftware’s reputation for challenging gameplay and esoteric design, the open-world RPG was breaking out into the mainstream. It was a hardcore game but it wasn’t only being enjoyed by hardcore gamers. Ubisoft had thousands of people working on open-world RPGs for years. Why couldn’t it make one that felt just as creatively bold, vibrant, and potent?

    A version of this question has been haunting the French publisher since Ghost Recon Breakpoint bombed back in 2019. It wasn’t a terrible game, just kind of a bland and boring one. It became the poster child for the bloated Ubisoft blockbuster that felt designed by committee for no one in particular. Co-founder and CEO Yves Guillemot promised sweeping reforms to get to the bottom of what was going wrong with the publisher’s production processes. Over five years and several organizational “resets” later, it’s not clear the company has gotten any closer to an answer.

    The untenable situation blew up again this week with Ubisoft announcing major delays, cancelations, cost-cutting, and restructuring that will result in some big short-term operating losses and more long-term uncertainty. Ubisoft’s market cap before Breakpoint was close to €10 billion. It’s since fallen by 95 percent to just €500 million. The news was jarring, particularly to the more than 15,000 employees across the company’s global network of studios who found out the news alongside everyone else in an end-of-day message from the CEO.

    “A boss run wild”

    “The strategic and organizational changes we will make in the coming weeks and months will propel Ubisoft into its future. They will allow us to reconnect with our DNA – that of one of the largest and most storied video game companies in the world – and to regain our creative leadership as well as our competitiveness,” part of it read. It went on to explain a new, less bureaucratic structure for decision making and organizing franchises like The Division and Beyond Good & Evil while also noting that there would be more pain to come as management continues to “make difficult decisions, including stopping certain projects” and “potentially closing select studios.”

    Slipped in between the grand vision and subtle threats was the reversal of a popular hybrid work-from-home policy that would have a direct impact on everyone working at Ubisoft. Staff would be back in the office five days a week, but with the promise of a generous number of work from home days. “The intention is not to question individual performance, but to regenerate our collective performance, which is one of the key elements in creating the best games with the required speed,” Guillemot wrote.

    There was immediate confusion and frustration. One French union representing Paris Ubisoft developers called for a half-day strike. “It is out of the question to let a boss run wild and destroy our working conditions,” Solidaires Informatique wrote in a press release. “Perhaps we need to remind him that it is his employees who make the games.” Even more colorful quotes were given to French news broadcaster BFM TV. “[Guillemot] is senile like Donald Trump,” one anonymous employee told the network. “He is losing his mind, we need to get him out of the company management [board]. He is screwing up everything and f****** the company.”

    Return to office talent drain

    Employees have been venting directly on Ubisoft’s internal messaging board as well, based on screenshots shared with me. “A full return to the office will only cause a significant amount of essential talent to leave the company, and nothing is being done to prevent this,” wrote one developer. “Why is top management not taking responsibility or accountability for the many errors and mistakes in the past? Instead, only workers are suffering the consequences.” Another wrote, “Since I joined Ubisoft, I’ve seen more change in the RTO policy than the company’s improvement and success.” A third did not mince words. “This is probably the most embarrassed I have felt working somewhere,” they wrote.

    Particularly galling about the new return-to-office policy for some Paris staff was that they had only recently finished negotiating to ensure two days of work-from-home per week. “It’s only been six months since the situation was more or less ‘back to normal’ and now it’s shattered to the ground by Yves’ sole decision with zero justification, zero documents, zero internal studies proving RTO increases productivity or morale, nothing,” one developer told me.

    The specific details for the rollout of the return-to-office policy have yet to be communicated to everyone, could vary team by team, and might not go into effect for much of the year. One thing that is clear is that Ubisoft is beginning to consolidate its Paris operations under one roof: the Floresco headquarters that was completed back in 2021. “Over the coming years, Ubisoft is planning to progressively bring together our Paris-area-based teams in the same building in Saint Mandé. This initiative is designed to optimize our workspace, foster greater collaboration between teams, and make better use of existing facilities, while being implemented gradually and in close dialogue with our employees,” a spokesperson for Ubisoft confirmed in an email.

    Definition of insanity

    There’s concern that these shifts could make it harder for Ubisoft to recruit the talent it needs to improve, or even worse, actively drive away more of the company’s existing veterans. But some employees have also shared broader disappointment with Ubisoft’s recent creative drift. “We need to stop with the trend-chasing, the trying to muscle our way into saturated markets, the sanitizing the edge off of our projects, and most of all the deciding which games get made behind closed doors,” one employee wrote this week on the company’s internal message board. They pointed to the launch of money pits like Skull & Bones and Ubisoft’s many failed attempts at live-service battle royales and extraction shooters.

    In many ways, this week felt like a repeat of two years ago. The company had just canceled several games and delayed a bunch of others. It promised organizational shifts and a doubling-down on the company’s biggest franchises. The stakes were similarly high and the solutions far from clear. “The ball is in your court,” Guillemot wrote to employees at the time. Developers were furious then, too. The CEO later apologized for how the remark was phrased, but two years later some people at Ubisoft feel like nothing’s changed.

    One current employee posted the following comment internally this week. “To quote one of the greatest villains in a video game: ‘Did I ever tell you what the definition of insanity is? Insanity is doing the exact same f****** thing over and over again, expecting shit to change. That is crazy.’ – Vaas Montenegro.”

    Ethan Gach

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  • Ubisoft slashes projects and closes studios – Tech Digest

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    Ubisoft is undergoing a “major reset,” cancelling six video games and closing two studios in a desperate bid to return to growth.

    The French publisher, known for Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry, has scrapped its long-awaited Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake. Fans have waited since 2020 for the title, which has suffered from multiple delays and a complete development reboot.

    Alongside the high-profile Prince of Persia cancellation, Ubisoft binned four unannounced titles and one mobile game. The company stated these projects “did not meet the new enhanced quality” standards required for its refined portfolio.

    Seven other games have been delayed into 2027 to ensure they meet strict quality benchmarks.

    The restructuring has a high human cost. Ubisoft confirmed the closure of its studios in Stockholm, Sweden, and Halifax, Canada. The Halifax closure is particularly controversial, occurring just days after the studio voted to form a union.

    Additional “restructuring” is also hitting offices in Abu Dhabi and the UK, as well as The Division developer, Massive Entertainment.

    Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot described the moves as a “decisive turning point” for the company. He noted that the “triple-A” gaming industry has become increasingly competitive, with soaring development costs making new brands harder to launch.

    To stabilize, Ubisoft is splitting into five independent “Creative Houses.” Each house will focus on a specific genre, such as open-world adventures or tactical shooters. This decentralized model is designed to speed up decision-making and restore creative agility.

    The market reacted sharply to the news. Ubisoft’s shares plunged by 33% on Thursday, hitting their lowest level in more than a decade. The company now expects a massive operating loss of around €1 billion for the 2026 financial year.

    Despite the cuts, Ubisoft is doubling down on its biggest franchises. Its “Vantage Studios” division will focus on turning Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six into annual “billionaire brands” through a mix of open-world sequels and live-service updates.

    For latest tech stories go to TechDigest.tv

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    Chris Price

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  • Ex-Assassin’s Creed Boss Sues Ubisoft Over Alleged Forced Firing

    In 2025 Marc-Alexis Côté, the head of the Assassin’s Creed franchise and a 20 year veteran of Ubisoft, abruptly left the publisher following the launch of Assassin’s Creed Shadows. Three months ago he broke his silence to claim that he didn’t leave voluntarily but was pushed out of the company. Now he’s suing Ubisoft for nearly $1 million over what he alleges was a “constructive dismissal” after being demoted from leading the publisher’s biggest franchise.

    Radio-Canada reports that the lawsuit was recently filed in the Superior Court of Quebec and claims $1.3 million Canadian dollars in damages, or roughly $935,000. In it, Côté details the events leading up to his departure from the company, including a meeting in the summer of 2025 when it apparently became clear that he would no longer remain in charge of Assassin’s Creed, the franchise he had led sine a 2022 strategy reboot outlined its ambitious future.

    Last year, Ubisoft launched a subsidiary called Vantage Studios backed by $1.25 billion in funding  from Tencent that would house the publisher’s most profitable franchises: Rainbow Six Siege, Far Cry, and Assassin’s Creed. It’s led by North American studios head Christophe Derennes and CEO Yves Guillemot’s son, Charlie Guillemot. Prior to the move, Côté reported directly to Yves Guillemot.

    An Assassin’s Creed veteran allegedly demoted

    But under this new model, Ubisoft was looking to hire a Head of Franchise that would oversee all of its major IP, including Assassin’s Creed, effectively demoting Côté, according to his lawsuit. The new position would also only be located in France, meaning Côté wouldn’t be eligible unless he was willing to relocate his life across the Atlantic.

    The veteran developer was reportedly offered a new position of franchise production head or an ambiguous role leading a “Creative House” overseeing a separate, lesser franchise within the company’s portfolio. When he declined and requested his severance for effectively losing his position in October, he alleges that Ubisoft took the surprise step of both internally and publicly announcing his “voluntary” departure the next day.

    “The past 24 hours have been deeply emotional,” he wrote on LinkedIn at the time. “Many of you have expressed surprise that I would choose to leave Assassin’s Creed after so many years, especially given the passion I still hold for it. The truth is simple: I did not make that choice.” Côté is now asking the Quebec court not only for damages and his severance, but to be released from a non-compete clause that limits the roles he can take elsewhere in the video game industry.

    Longer dev cycles, fewer games

    The lawsuit comes on the eve of Assassin’s Creed Shadows‘ one-year anniversary, the last game in the franchise to ship with Côté, who has been working on the historical action series since 2010’s Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, at the helm. That game was originally supposed to come out in 2024 but was delayed to provide additional development time after already marking the longest lull ever between new releases in the series.

    “We’re also shifting our development model to make it more sustainable for our teams, as previously we used to average about three years for each development cycle on Assassin’s Creed,” Côté announced back in 2022. “So we’re moving to longer dev cycles to make them more sustainable from a human and technological point of view, so that we can truly build on the shoulders of one another and then support our games for a longer period of time.”

    He said the franchise would evolve along two separate tracks, with Shadows representing the continued evolution of the open-world RPG formula that began with Assassin’s Creed Origins and the next entry, Assassin’s Creed Hexe directed by Clint Hocking, taking an approach that would feel “fresh and different.” Years later, however, some projects like the multiplayer spin-off Invictus and the mobile “AAA” game Jade remain MIA. A remake of Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, meanwhile, is rumored to be launching in the next few months.

    Ubisoft and Côté did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

    Ethan Gach

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  • Attackers Caused So Much Havoc Inside Rainbow Six Siege, Ubisoft Shut Down the Whole Game

    Over the weekend, Ubisoft apparently lost control of one of its biggest video games, Rainbow Six Siege, as attackers appeared to infiltrate it and seize control of a number of core functions. The new bizarro game operators created a chaotic free-for-all that Ubisoft apparently couldn’t put to rest while keeping the game online.

    So the game, a team-oriented tactical first-person shooter sort of like Counter-Strike but with an emphasis on destructible environments, was taken down intentionally on Saturday. As of this writing on Sunday, it still wasn’t back up. There’s no campaign mode for the game, so there’s nothing to play with the servers down.

    There’s no official statement on the identity of the alleged perpetrators.

     

    Rather ominously, the X account of the malware code and information repository VX-Underground claims that the Rainbow Six Siege attack coincided with several wider, and potentially more damaging infiltrations at Ubisoft, rumored to include the theft of proprietary code and possibly even private user data, though none of this has been confirmed. 

    According to Bleeping Computer, there has not yet been a public release of information about the nature of the Rainbow Six Siege attack, and that publication’s reporting has been drawn from reports posted online by players.

    How much havoc was it? Well, according to one X user, the attackers turned the ban announcement pop-ups into a sort of meme ticker, making them drip out the lyrics to “It Wasn’t Me” by Shaggy.

     

    More substantively, Bleeping Computer says the attackers took control of player bans and ban reversal, and distributed 2 billion credits in the game’s in-game currency, along with an equally economy-destroying amount of “renoun,” in-game clout points that also function as a sort of currency. All skins and cosmetic items were opened to all players as well.

    Credits are sold for actual fiat currency, so, by Bleeping Computer’s math, two billion credits translates to roughly $13.33 million—though it’s doubtful anyone was able to convert that into an actual, real-world fortune.

    With their game effectively an asylum run by overtly hostile inmates, Ubisoft took the servers for Rainbow Six Siege, and the accompanying game marketplace, offline while engineers set about putting everything back together. Ubisoft posted on X that players would not be punished for spending the credits the attackers had given them.

    The bad news for players, however, is that as of Sunday, engineers were in the process of rolling back all those purchases as part of the repair effort. 

    The latest X post from Rainbow Six Siege as of this writing says “The team is focused on getting players back into the game as quickly as possible,” and that the “matter is being handled with extreme care and therefore, timing cannot be guaranteed.”

    Gizmodo reached out to Ubisoft for information on whether the attack is really more expansive than just Rainbow Six Siege, whether data was stolen from Ubisoft, and whether there is any information yet about the nature of the attack and what vulnerability was exploited. We will update if we hear back.

    Mike Pearl

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  • Ubisoft is rolling back Rainbow Six Siege servers after being forced to shut them down

    Ubisoft has shut down Rainbow Six Siege‘s servers and is in the process of rolling back the fallout of a widespread breach that left various players with billions of in-game credits, ultra-rare skins of weapons, and banned accounts. As of Sunday afternoon, the status page on Rainbow Six Siege‘s website still shows “unplanned outage” on all servers across PC, PlayStation and Xbox.

    The fiasco began Saturday morning when Ubisoft said on X that they were “aware of an incident currently affecting Rainbow Six Siege” and “working on a resolution.” A couple of hours later, the Rainbow Six Siege servers were shut down, following plenty of user reports showing either zero or billions in R6 credits, rare skins in their lockers and either account bans or unbans. Ubisoft later clarified Saturday afternoon on X that nobody would be banned if they spent their ill-gotten credits, but that a rollback of all transactions starting from Saturday, 6AM ET would soon be underway.

    On Sunday afternoon, Ubisoft informed the playerbase that they’re currently performing a rollback, but that “extensive quality control tests will be executed to ensure the integrity of accounts and effectiveness of changes.” The company added that “this matter is being handled with extreme care and therefore, timing cannot be guaranteed” and didn’t provide an estimate for when servers would be back online.

    Jackson Chen

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  • Netflix’s Assassin’s Creed TV show could kick off in Ancient Rome

    Fans of the Assassin’s Creed franchise may finally get to visit Ancient Rome, but it could instead be through a Netflix adaptation of Ubisoft’s best-selling video game IP. Nexus Point News reported that the live-action adaptation will be set in Ancient Rome and feature historical figures like Nero, the fifth emperor of Rome.

    With the potential featuring of Nero, the news outlet predicts that the TV series could be set between 54 to 68 AD during the infamous emperor’s rule. Details are still sparse about Netflix’s latest video game adaptation, but the streaming giant and Ubisoft announced its first series regular of Toby Wallace, earlier this month. In the blog post, the plot was described as a “high-octane thriller centered on the secret war between two shadowy factions.”

    Before the first casting reveal, Netflix greenlit the Assassin’s Creed TV show in July of this year, five years after the announcement that a series was being produced. While the original plan to introduce multiple different series in the franchise’s universe may have changed over the five-year gap, fans are still hoping for an anthology-like structure similar to the video games.

    Jackson Chen

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  • Anno 117: Pax Romana – Choosing Between Celtic Tradition or Roman Ambition – Xbox Wire

    Summary

    • Anno 117: Pax Romana launches Day 1 on Xbox Series X|S on November 13.
    • The decisions you make during the Anno 117: Pax Romana campaign will dramatically affect your gameplay and narrative.
    • Choose between Romanizing your population or allowing them to maintain their Celtic culture.

    For the first time in franchise history, Anno is coming to Xbox Series X|S on day 1 when Anno 117: Pax Romana launches on November 13. In Anno 117: Pax Romana, you’ll play as a Roman governor in charge of building a brand-new city in Latium, the heart of the empire. A warm and sunny province, Latium embodies the strength and stability Rome maintained during the Pax Romana, a time of prosperity for the empire. It’s the perfect place for a newly appointed governor to thrive in … at least until a series of events sees a new Emperor take power and subsequently exile you to the marshy shores of Albion where new challenges and tough decisions await.

    “Albion is inspired by the Celtic world, and it’s a mystical place,” says Creative Director Manuel Reinher. “It’s a wild place at the border of the Empire. It’s also a place no civilized Roman wants to be and your mission there is to stabilize the province.”

    Stabilizing the province will be much easier said than done, as players will have to make choices that impact not only the narrative, but the gameplay in Albion. Progress in Anno 117: Pax Romana is tied to your residents. As you fulfill their needs, you’ll be able to upgrade them to higher tiers, unlocking more advanced buildings and technology. In Latium, this upgrade path is linear, but in Albion you have a choice: allow your residents to maintain their Celtic culture, or Romanize them and make them conform to the empire’s way of life.

    Anno 117: Pax Romana

    This decision will have wide-ranging implications. For starters, Celtic residents have different wants and needs than Romanized residents. They require different production chains that produce different goods to fulfill their needs. Many of their buildings and technologies take advantage of the natural marshy landscape of Albion. Marshes in Anno 117: Pax Romana, are a unique land type. Certain buildings can only be built on top of marshes, while others must be built on solid land. A Celtic population will work symbiotically with the landscape while a Romanized population will drain the marshes and build aqueducts, forcing the land to conform to their wants and needs.

    “You’ll also have to deal with the Voada problem,” says Reinher. “She’s the Celtic leader and creates a lot of headaches for Romans. She hates Rome and during your time in Albion, you’ll have to decide if you want to resolve the conflict with her diplomatically or by using military force. If you allow the Celts to worship their gods and protect their holy sites, it will be easier to solve the problem diplomatically.”

    Anno 117: Pax Romana

    Voada will also test your dedication to her cause through specific quests that might ask you to free some captive relatives or work closely with her. However you decide to deal with her, your actions in Albion won’t go unnoticed. Other governors in the world will react to your actions and comment on them. Your relationship with them will also be impacted by how you deal with your residents in Albion.

    This amount of narrative and gameplay variation was in response to the linearity of recent Anno games and directly influenced by the historical research Reinher and his team did during development.

    “There are examples where Roman governors made room for local identity. And then it was quite clear that this could be a good thing for a game like Anno. In general, we wanted to introduce choices with impact throughout the game. Anno 1800 was quite linear, so now we try to provide more agency for the players but also make the game more flexible.”

    Anno 117: Pax Romana

    Part of that flexibility meant bringing land combat back to Anno. While the franchise is most known as a city-builder where diplomacy is always an option, a game set in the Roman empire needs to feature a robust land and naval combat system. Combat is deeper than ever thanks to modular naval ships, upgradable infantry units, devastating siege weapons, and buildable fortifications. Players have no obligation to play nice with Voada, and while dealing with what Reinher calls the “Voada problem” can mean diplomacy, it can also mean legionnaires, triremes, and siege weapons that decimate her and her people.

    Of course, the decision will ultimately be up to you. Will you be a cunning negotiator? A master strategist? A brutal conqueror? Play the campaign multiple times and try them all when Anno 117: Pax Romana launches on Xbox Series X|S on November 13. The game will be available for purchase or playable with a Ubisoft+ Premium membership.

    Will Fulton, Xbox Wire Editor

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  • Brawlhalla: 10 Years of Community – Xbox Wire

    Summary

    • Brawlhalla is celebrating its 10th anniversary.
    • Players should check out the BCX event for exciting new announcements, as well as play the free in-game anniversary event.
    • Managing Director Zeke Sparkes reflects on the early days of the game, how it’s grown to a community over 125 million players strong, and keeping the community at the core of the game’s vision.

    Brawlhalla, the free-to-play platform fighting game, is celebrating its 10th anniversary since launching its open beta in 2015. What started as an indie game with five playable Legends has grown into a pillar of the fighting game community, with 67 playable Legends; a plethora of maps and biomes; crossovers with popular IP such as Star Wars, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and Halo, among many others; and over 125 million lifetime players.

    Each year, around its anniversary, Brawlhalla celebrates in two ways: an in-game anniversary celebration, and the in-person Brawlhalla World Championship Expo (BCX). BCX 2025 is taking place at the Gateway Center in Atlanta, GA from November 21-23, and will feature world-class competitive Brawlhalla, announcements of what’s coming in 2026, and an expo packed with dev panels, cosplay, and more.

    Brawlhalla 10th Anniversary

    The in-game anniversary event runs now through December 3: a month-long celebration of Brawlhalla featuring new content, community events, rewards, and surprises. The festival introduces a new Legend – a cleric named Lady Vera – as well as the long-awaited Guild feature, which allows players to build community in new and exciting ways. Whether you’re a seasoned competitor or a new player, Brawlhalla’s 10th anniversary is the perfect time to log in, join a Guild, and brawl it out in the arena.

    Zeke Sparkes is Brawlhalla’s managing director, and he’s been a developer on the game since its inception. We spoke to him to learn more about Brawlhalla’s beginning, how it’s continued to grow over the past decade, and how the team kept the player community at the core of the game’s vision.

    What can you tell us about Brawlhalla’s early days of development and the vision for the game?

    It was exciting because we realized pretty early on that we had something that had legs, but we didn’t know how far it could go. So, we poured our hearts into it and built really strong ties with the community early on. We knew, especially being free to play, that we had to be talking and listening and adapting based on what the community was saying. And so, we put ourselves out there and it’s been a wild ride seeing how far we can go.

    Has the approach to development changed in the last decade?

    I’d say the mentality is still the same. It’s a team that loves the game – everybody is here because they want to be working on Brawlhalla, and we are connected to the community. We’re constantly finding new ways to listen to the community and figure out what we can do to tweak the game, keep people interested and excited, see what things we’re doing that are working well, and what things we’re doing that aren’t working so well that we need to update. We’ve had a constant commitment to that.

    Over the years, we’ve gone from launching just on Steam, where we could patch two, three, four, five times a week – really, really fast – to being on every major platform. That adds a layer of logistics we didn’t have early on; we have to plan a bit further ahead. So, the processes changed a little bit, but the heart and mentality are still the same.

    As you’ve mentioned, community is a huge part of Brawlhalla, and being connected to the community has been the plan since day one. How did you build that community relationship? Was there any surprising feedback?

    One of the first things we did was stream the game on Twitch, even before we really understood what Twitch was or how to do a good stream. We knew that it was going to be important, and it was one of the first times you could get real-time feedback from players as a developer, which was really exciting.

    Because of that connection, we had a really big change early on. Originally, the game wasn’t character-focused; you would build an avatar and then spec out exactly how you wanted your character to be based on the weapons we dropped for you during gameplay. The early feedback told us the prototype was cool, the combat’s fun, but characters were missing. That’s when we started to think about pivoting to a character-centric game and started figuring out what archetypes we could add based on what we had made. We started with five Legends and released the 67th this month.

    Now, we’ve got a full-on livestream studio with a set and awesome production values and motion graphics, but the core of the experience is still there, where it’s us talking to the community about what we’re doing, what’s going on, seeing how they react to stuff, and listening to the things they want to see in the game. That’s how we keep Brawlhalla moving forward.

    Brawlhalla’s World Championship Expo (BCX) is taking place November 21-23 in Atlanta. What can fans expect this year?

    Brawlhalla 10th Anniversary

    That is the place to tune into. You get the best Brawlhalla gameplay in the entire world, and it just gets better every year. It’s incredible – the atmosphere is amazing, and it’s where we make some of our biggest announcements and reveals. We’ve got some really good ones lined up this year (I’m thinking of a couple now that are going to make people go crazy), so make sure you tune in on twitch.tv/Brawlhalla.

    Any reflections on the past decade you’d like to share? What’s up next for Brawlhalla?

    Lady Vera, our 67th Legend, is out now. She’s a cleric with some really interesting signature moves, and you can do some pretty fun stuff with her. She has a lot of radial skills, so depending on where you are when you do the move, the direction that your opponent goes can change pretty dramatically. So, if you’re creative, this really is a character for you. We’ve also just released phase one of our Guilds feature, which is a long-time player request. You’ll be able to build your community of players around a Guild that works across all different platforms, and that’s just phase one. We’ll continue to add cool, new, engaging mechanisms to Guilds as we move forward. Tune into BCX 2025 for more specifics of what’s to come!

    Brawlhalla 10th Anniversary

    I’d also like to say that building Brawlhalla with this team and with the community has been amazing. Over the past decade, players have shaped this game’s direction, fueled its esports scene, and fostered a welcoming space for brawlers of all backgrounds. The Anniversary Event is as much a celebration of the community as it is of the game itself. It’s exactly what we love to do and we’re so thankful for everybody that’s been on this journey with us whether you’re brand new today or you’ve been playing Brawlhalla since the closed alpha. We’re super excited that there’s a community of people that love the game and love what we’re doing.

    Brawlhalla is free to play on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One.


    Brawlhalla

    Brawlhalla

    Ubisoft


    ☆☆☆☆☆
    1014


    ★★★★★


    An epic platform fighter for up to 8 players online or locally. Try casual free-for-alls, ranked matches, or invite friends to a private room. And it’s free! Play cross-platform with millions of players on PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, iOS, Android and Steam! Frequent updates. Over fifty Legends._x000d_
    _x000d_
    The Legend Rotation of nine free to play characters changes every week, and you can earn gold to unlock more Legends by playing any online game mode. _x000d_
    Includes: Orion Legend unlock, Dark Age Orion Skin, Thumb’s Up Emote, Trident Weapon Skin._x000d_
    _x000d_
    Brawhalla will always be 100% free to play with no pay-to-win advantages.

    Will Fulton, Xbox Wire Editor

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  • Just Dance Now is coming to LG smart TVs

    LG and Ubisoft have teamed up to bring the motion-controlled rhythm game Just Dance Now to LG Smart TVs. The game will be available from December in the LG Gaming Portal for LG TV users in the US and Europe running webOS 22 or later, with no additional hardware required.

    Just Dance Now originally launched in 2014 as a mobile app for iOS and Android, before Ubisoft brought the game to Apple TV a year later. A main series spinoff aimed at people who don’t own a console, Just Dance Now offers a library of hundreds of songs that span decades of music, which you’ll be able to access for free for a limited time each day. If that just isn’t enough dancing time to satisfy you, you can subscribe to one of Ubisoft’s or purchase song packs.

    Just Dance Now was originally designed to be played using your phone as a controller, with your handset of choice functioning much like the Wii Remote did in the very first Just Dance game back in 2009. In the LG Gaming Portal version of the game, the motion-sensing LG Magic Remote becomes the peripheral, so you really don’t need any extra gear.

    Ahead of the December launch, the Just Dance Now app will be available in beta, allowing players to try three songs on the first day, followed by one daily for the remainder for the two-week trial. Ubisoft hasn’t announced the release date for the beta yet.

    The LG Gaming Portal is gradually becoming a viable alternative to a console for people with a casual interest in games. The cloud version of Xbox Game Pass back in April, and the new and improved GeForce NOW app up to 4K 120Hz game streams on LG TVs a few months ago.

    Matt Tate

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  • Just Dance 2026 Edition: Go Hands-Free with the All-New Camera Controller – Xbox Wire

    Just Dance 2026 Edition returns on October 14 with a fresh batch of new features – but one is catching everyone’s eye this year: Camera Controller mode. Developed by the Just Dance production team at Ubisoft Paris, this innovation lets players use their entire body as the controller, simply by using their smartphone’s camera. It’s a small revolution that makes dancing even more fluid, precise … and fun!

    We spoke with Apolline Wasik (Data Scientist), Caitlin Baltus (Score Level Designer) – two key members of the development team – and OfHugo, a Star Player from the Just Dance community who tested the feature during its beta phase.

    A Fresh Direction for Just Dance

    The idea for the Camera Controller began in late 2021, when Xbox announced the end of Kinect support. “Through the development of Camera Scoring, we wanted to offer an alternative that lets players dance freely without a controller,” explains Apolline Wasik. This new mode relies on the smartphone’s camera and leverages advances in 3D human pose detection. “We had to explore ways to adapt these models to the specific context of Just Dance.”

    This project also responds to a long-standing request from the community: “For a long time, our players were asking for an alternative to Kinect. Then, we wanted to take things further with the scoring algorithm, which measures how closely the player’s movements match those of the coach. […] Thanks to this technology, we’re now able to pinpoint exactly which parts of the body are off and deliver a more accurate, full-body score.”

    A More Immersive – and More Rewarding – Way to Learn

    With Camera Controller, the feeling of freedom is instantaneous. “It introduces a stimulating learning curve: players see their scores improve gradually as they replay the same choreography, because they’re progressing and refining their movements,” says Apolline.

    For Caitlin Baltus, the feature fills a gap that had been missing since the franchise became a unified platform with Just Dance 2023 Edition: “Camera Controller is the feature we needed since the shift to a unified Just Dance platform. […] Just Dance has a competitive legacy on Kinect, which was by far the preferred setup for our core community because of the freedom it provided. […] This way of playing aligns perfectly with our core gameplay – dance itself. It encourages learning the art of dance beyond the game.”

    And most importantly, it enables a fairer and more inclusive experience: “Kinect had limitations related to game environment that made scoring imprecise. These issues are no longer relevant with our new in-house technology. It gives back to our community their favorite mode of play – only now, improved!”

    From the Players’ Side: a Return to Roots

    For OfHugo, the release of this feature was a turning point: “Since nearly the beginning of my Just Dance journey, I always used Kinect. When the game was no longer released on Xbox One, it felt like a real blow to me, in terms of both enjoyment and comfort. […] When the beta launched, it felt like hope again. And after trying it, far more than hope: the test was a success!”

    He goes on: “[It’s] an intuitive and pleasant experience, [with] effective detection allowing freedom of dance and play again! […] Now, when I play solo, I use only the Camera Controller mode. […] Scoring without a controller, with the whole body taken into account … for me, it’s the only true way to fully play Just Dance.”

    And even though he now often plays in multiplayer, he remains convinced of the solo mode’s power: “When I myself started – transitioning from Wii to PS4 to Xbox One – the Kinect experience is what turned me from a casual player into … well, a Star Player!”

    Tech Built Hand in Hand With the Community

    Player feedback was central throughout the development process. “Observing qualitative feedback across different choreographies helped us confirm the robustness of the algorithm,” notes Apolline.

    Caitlin also emphasizes the importance of direct community feedback: “From a quality standpoint, we could observe in real time how the community was approaching this new Controller and internally adjust our design rules accordingly to deliver better challenges. […] Watching streams, videos and top‑player feedback greatly helped us refine our rules.”

    An In‑House Innovation, a Team Challenge

    Developing the Camera Controller represented a first for Just Dance: “It’s the first time we’ve integrated a Machine Learning algorithm at the heart of the game. […] It was crucial to always refer back to the game context when designing the feature. […] We even built our own dance motion database with help from volunteers within the Just Dance production team, to train a model specific to the game.”

    It was a major challenge – one tackled alongside the ongoing production of regular choreographies. “We had to deliver a true ‘live Kinect’ experience and take Camera Controller even further, all while continuing to produce new choreographies,” recalls Caitlin.

    “The beta, with 15 songs produced in just two weeks, allowed us to define the design rules, which we then had to test, refine, and share with other level designers around the world.”

    Looking ahead, Apolline sees promising challenges: “The quality of 3D pose estimation models continues to improve. One of the challenges will be adapting them to the game context and making them run on phones, despite their growing complexity.”

    An Emotionally Charged Launch

    After months of work, the release of Camera Controller in Just Dance 2026 is a source of pride for the team. “The enthusiasm from players motivates us to capitalize on this feature and develop more innovations,” says Apolline.

    Caitlin summarizes with emotion: “Seeing community feedback gives meaning to my work and drives me for future projects. […] I had difficulty obtaining consistent scores due to my hair texture and body type. I am so happy to now offer a more inclusive experience. […] The official launch marks a new beginning for Just Dance.”

    One thing is certain: with the Camera Controller, dancing has never felt more free—and Just Dance has never been closer to its players!

    Just Dance 2026 Edition will be available on October 14 on Xbox Series X|S. Visit the official Just Dance website to check availability on other platforms.

    JUST DANCE 2026 EDITION – STANDARD EDITION

    Ubisoft


    ☆☆☆☆☆
    133


    ★★★★★


    $49.99


    Create unforgettable memories with Just Dance 2026 Edition!

    ENJOY 40 HOT NEW SONGS
    From the hottest hits to timeless classics, there’s a song for everyone and every moment in our all-new tracklist featuring:
    – APT. by ROSÉ & Bruno Mars
    – Abracadabra by Lady Gaga
    – Good Luck, Babe! by Chappell Roan
    – Houdini by Dua Lipa
    – Azizam by Ed Sheeran
    – VIVA LA VIDA by Coldplay
    – Counting Stars by OneRepublic
    – Hung Up by Madonna
    – All Star by Smash Mouth
    – DRIP by BABYMONSTER
    And many more!

    BRING YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY TO THE PARTY
    Dance solo, in co-op, or get competitive:
    – Dance with up to 6 players in local multiplayer!
    – Team up for an unpredictable dance showdown in the new Party mode!
    – Or compete to prove who has the best moves in Challenge mode!

    DISCOVER ENDLESS WAYS TO DANCE
    There’s a Just Dance experience for everyone:
    – Use your whole body with Camera Controller mode on your phone.*
    – Get active with Workout mode, tracking calories burned while playing.
    – All content you own from the 2023, 2024, 2025, or 2026 Editions of Just Dance is available in one place!
    – Dance to hundreds of songs with 1 month of free access to Just Dance+.**

    *A smartphone with the free Just Dance Controller app is required to track your moves including in the Camera Controller Mode, no additional accessories required!

    **Just Dance+ is a streaming service, playable via Just Dance 2026 Edition, that grants access to additional songs. Terms and conditions apply. Requires Ubisoft Account, console account, persistent internet access, and the payment of a fee and/or an ongoing subscription fee. Age and territorial restrictions apply.

    Internet connection, Ubisoft account, Microsoft Account and Game Pass Ultimate or Core (subscriptions sold separately) required to access online multiplayer/features.

    Joe Skrebels, Xbox Wire Editor-in-Chief

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  • Ubisoft launches its new Tencent-backed subsidiary

    Ubisoft has launched — and named — its Tencent-backed subsidiary. Vantage Studios is the first of the company’s “creative houses” under a previously-announced reorganization. The new studio will oversee the company’s tentpole franchises: Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry and Rainbow Six.

    The news follows Ubisoft’s March announcement of a new subsidiary with a €1.16 billion ($1.36 billion) investment from Tencent. The Chinese company took a minority ownership stake in Vantage as part of the deal. In July, Ubisoft named the new subsidiary’s co-CEOs: Christophe Derennes and Charlie Guillemot.

    “Our focus is on evolving Ubisoft’s operating model to bring more focus, more autonomy and more accountability to the teams so they can stay closely attuned to our players,” Guillemot said at the time. “Decision making will be quicker, and it will also be easier to pivot when we need to change course.”

    Ubisoft’s announcement today reflected that language. The idea is to give its developers “a higher level of autonomy” at Vantage and future studios. It wants the new structure to enable “a shorter pathway between gathering and implementing player feedback.”

    Vantage is the only creative house the parent company has announced. The company will set up future ones “under the banner of a shared DNA and development expertise.” However, it’s unclear what other creative houses will work on, with Vantage taking over Ubisoft’s bread-and-butter franchises.

    Vantage’s team will be spread across Ubisoft’s offices in Montréal, Quebec City, Sherbrooke, Saguenay, Barcelona and Sofia. Multiple gaming publications, including GamesIndustry.biz, reported that the studio began operations today. Ubisoft is said to have chosen “Vantage Studios” based on a vote by its 2,300 employees. As for Tencent, it will reportedly act in an advisory role, with the co-CEOs having the final word.

    Ubisoft was due for some big changes. The company has endured big-name flops, studio closures and layoffs. At least Assassin’s Creed: Shadows has done well.

    Incidentally, Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry and Rainbow Six titles were among those added to Game Pass on Wednesday. Microsoft seems to have intended for the announcement to soften the blow of the service’s 50 percent price hike. I’m not so sure it worked.

    Will Shanklin

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  • Assassin’s Creed Shadows: What To Know Before the Claws of Awaji Expansion – Xbox Wire

    Summary

    • Assassin’s Creed Shadows expansion Claws of Awaji launches September 16.
    • The expansion follows on from the story of Naoe and Yasuke, and introduces over 10 hours of brand-new content.
    • Here’s what players need to do to prepare themselves to explore the mysterious region of Awaji.

    Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ expansion, Claws of Awaji, is launching on September 16, bringing over 10 hours of new content to the game, furthering the story of Naoe and Yasuke. Set after the main events of Assassin’s Creed Shadows, Claws of Awaji will introduce a mysterious new region, Awaji Island.

    Awaji is an isolated island, separate from the main game map, full of different biomes such as beaches, swamps and jungles. The island is filled with deadly ambushes, dangerous traps, and Naoe and Yasuke become the target of a powerful and terrifying faction. Enemies on Awaji Island can ambush you when you least expect it; some are even disguised as citizens, so stay on your toes. The expansion will also bring new, unique bosses…but no spoilers here!

    At the expansion’s release, all Shadows players will be able to get a new weapon for Naoe – the Bo staff. This weapon can be elevated through multiple legendary Bo Staves, only available in the expansion, that can be found across the island of Awaji. The Bo is a very agile weapon, designed to execute spectacular combos. It can help Naoe attack different enemies in quick sequence or even throw one enemy into another. Players who dive into the expansion will also uncover brand new armor and gear, each featuring fresh designs and abilities.

    To prepare for Claws of Awaji, you must finish Shadows’ main story, as the expansion will pick up right where things leave off after completing each of Naoe and Yasuke’s full personal quests.

    If you haven’t finished Shadows’ main story – here’s your warning to look away now, as we’re going to spoil the end of it to tease Claws of Awaji’s story.

    Still with us? Good. At the end of Shadows, Naoe hears rumors about a mysterious shinobi who is facing a dangerous faction on the island. As Naoe thinks it’s her mother – Tsuyu – she goes there with Yasuke to find out and soon encounter the nefarious faction for themselves.

    Claws of Awaji will also incorporate the upcoming level cap increase for its progression, so we recommend hitting at least level 60 before September 16 so you can dive into the action fully prepared and ready to take advantage of the extra levels.  

    For those who haven’t played since launch, Assassin’s Creed Shadows has since implemented a number of robust updates, including New Game+, a level cap increase (80, up from 60), Knowledge Rank 9 and 10, Forge Level 4 and 5, a new Animus Hub project, new achievements a new Critical Role-inspired ally, bonus free missions, and the Nightmare Difficulty mode. Multiple community-suggested features have also been added, including new parkour mechanics, greater HUD customization, Photomode improvements, and more.

    The expansion will be available for purchase or playable with a Ubisoft+ subscription. We hope you enjoy your time exploring Awaji Island on Xbox Series X|S, September 16!

    Danielle Partis

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  • How to Design Devious Laser Tripwires with Rainbow Six Siege’s Newest Operator – Xbox Wire

    Summary

    • Operation High Stakes launches today in Rainbow Six Siege and is free to access.
    • Unlock Denari through the Battle Pass and use his throwable T.R.I.P. Connector gadgets to create lasers that damage and slow Attackers.
    • Here are some starter tips for using Denari’s gadget to create cunning laser grids and unleash his creative potential.

    An ingenious new Operator is lighting up Rainbow Six Siege with laser tripwires that you can design and deploy on the fly, creating brazen barriers or sneaky snares that damage and slow any Attackers who happen to get zapped. The new Defender’s name is Denari and he arrived today with the launch Operation High Stakes on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One. This new season also delivers modernized versions of the Consulate, Lair, and Nighthaven Labs maps, adding more-immersive lighting and strategically destructible items like gas pipes and fire extinguishers. Operator balancing changes, R6 Shieldguard improvements to game security, and evolving content for the 6v6 Dual Front mode are just some of the other impactful updates in Operation High Stakes.

    But only one of those updates can cause you laser problems. To help you prepare to face this new threat or to inspire you to diversify your devious designs, we’ve put together a starter guide of different approaches to making the most of Denari, Rainbow Six Siege’s clever and creative new Operator.

    Concentrate Lasers for Maximum Threat

    Denari gives you the power to turn any room into an EDM rave-worthy laser display. Attackers that touch any laser will take damage and suffer a temporary slowing effect, and this happens for every laser they touch, so a laser danger room with multiple potential points of contact is a deadly proposition indeed. Your opponents will need to deal with this threat, and herein lies one of Denari’s superpowers: making Attackers waste time. The more time they spend on dismantling your perilous party room, the less time they have to complete their objective.

    Denari’s lasers are also a visual distraction: A handy side-effect of a room full of highly visible lasers is that they really grab the eye. And if an Attacker is even slightly distracted by danger beams, that’s an advantage for Denari’s Defender allies. Position yourself in such a way that a laser breaks up your silhouette and they’ll never see you coming.

    Place Connectors in Easily Overlooked Spots

    Denari likes his foes to know they’re on his turf, and the lasers created by his T.R.I.P. Connectors are easy to spot. Still, he can take a cue from fellow Defender Kapkan’s laser-triggered Entry Denial Devices and try to catch aggressive Attackers unawares. Denari’s lasers can be placed lower than Kapkan’s traps, so try a floor-level laser connection across a doorway. Make sure to position the Connectors wider than the doorframe itself so that Attackers can’t get an angle to shoot them. Connectors can be shot and destroyed easily, so keeping them out of your enemies’ line of sight is a must.

    Rainbow Six Siege Asset

    Don’t put Connectors too close to existing lasers: Denari’s lasers can destroy gadgets like drones, grenades, and his own Connectors that you place too close to them. Though it is tempting to stack lasers to maximize the damage your enemies take, you must be careful to not overlap them lest you lose a precious Connector. A tight little criss-cross of lasers can pack a mean punch, but is also more visible, so consider hiding it behind one of Denari’s deployable shields to give vaulting Attackers a nasty surprise. This tactic is a classic for a reason.

    Beware the Single Point of Failure

    Denari has a whole bunch of T.R.I.P. Connectors and each one is capable of connecting to as many other Connectors as it has line of sight to. As tempting as it can be to create a dazzling pinwheel of laser connections all emanating from a single Connector, all it takes is one shot to remove the majority of the threat. Consider a more durable example: four Connectors placed in a square shape will form lasers not just around the four sides, but crossing diagonally through the middle as well. When one of the Connectors gets taken out, the other three still form a triangular shape that is more than capable of obstructing an offensive push. Keep this in mind when attempting to criss-cross a key hallway or objective site entry: grids with redundancy built in can last longer, costing the Attackers precious time.

    Rainbow Six Siege Asset

    The Glaive-12 shotgun is great for making safer connections: Verticality is a great way to get even more redundancy built into your grid, and Denari has just the thing to help make it happen. His Glaive-12 shotgun sidearm – a new addition to Rainbow Six Siege – shoots destructive and deadly slugs that are perfect for punching holes in soft ceilings. Aim at an angle and try to destroy just the ceiling material and not the floor above, then throw a T.R.I.P. Connector into the gap between the metal beams to get both vertical connections and sightline protection.

    Explore Gadget Synergies with Teammates Like Azami

    The Operators of Rainbow Six Siege always shine brighter when they work together, and the dazzling duo of Denari and Azami is the perfect combo of creativity. Azami is able to deploy her Kiba Barriers to create new cover positions, patch over doorways or breach holes, and reshape the geometry of a room to her team’s advantage. Denari can use these barriers to hide his Connector placement, making his grids harder to destroy. Azami, in turn, can create new surfaces for Connectors to deploy on, opening up new potential laser angles. While Attackers attempt to dismantle these defenses, Denari can use his three-speed mobility to get somewhere the Attackers don’t expect him to be and use his Scorpion EVO 3 SMG or FMG-9 SMG to take them out.

    Rainbow Six Siege Asset

    Use the preview lasers to intentionally obstruct Connectors for a late-round surprise: When deploying a Connector, Denari can see a solid line where a laser connection will be made and a blinking line where a laser connection is currently obstructed. This allows him not only to troubleshoot the grid he wants to make (perhaps by blasting impediments with his Glaive-12 shotgun), but also to plan where a grid could be built if only a certain obstruction was removed. One judiciously placed Connector blocked by a Kiba Barrier could be ready to make several laser connections as soon as the barrier is broken. Wait for your opponents to push into the area, shoot the Kiba Barrier yourself, and watch the laser-fueled chaos erupt.

    How Do I Counter Denari?

    In addition to destroying Denari’s T.R.I.P. Connectors with bullets, explosives, and melee, Attackers can use Impact EMP grenades (or Thatcher’s EMP for a larger radius) to temporarily disable the devices. IQ and her electronics detector can help you pinpoint connector positions, and when it comes to destroying the connectors from a safe distance, the drones of Twitch and Brava – as well as Zero’s Argus Camera – are excellent options.  

    Rainbow Six Siege Asset

    Denari can counter Attacker gadgets: Denari’s gadget options include the deployable shield and the observation blocker, both helpful for blocking physical line-of-sight and drone/camera line-of-sight to his connectors, respectively. But when teamed up with Mute and his Signal Jammers, Denari has even more protection from drones, while Jäger and Wamai can snatch grenades of all varieties out of the air before they have a chance to cause trouble.

    Denari has entered the fray, so watch out for lasers when you fire up Operation High Stakes today. You can download and play Rainbow Six Siege in free access for Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One, or play the Ultimate Edition with a Ubisoft+ subscription and instantly unlock more benefits, including 52 additional Operators. Denari can be unlocked today as part of the Operation High Stakes Battle Pass, or in two weeks’ time with Renown or R6 Credits.


    Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege X - Ultimate Edition

    Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege X – Ultimate Edition

    Ubisoft


    ☆☆☆☆☆
    2007


    ★★★★★



    $39.99

    $31.99


    The Ultimate Edition includes:
    – Access to Quick Match, Unranked and Dual Front game modes with a selection of operators
    – Access to Ranked playlists and Siege Cup
    – Instant unlock of 52 additional operators
    – The Disruptor Pack, containing cosmetic bundles for four operators: Nøkk, Warden, Frost, and Maverick

    Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege X is an elite, tactical team-based shooter where superior planning and execution triumph.

    Siege X marks the biggest evolution in its history and deepens the game’s tactical core.

    HIGH STAKES 5v5 ATTACK VS. DEFENSE
    Alternate between attack and defense, adapting your approach to operators and maps. Feel the thrill and intensity of the action as you leverage next-level destruction and gadgetry to outsmart your opponents in every round.

    – On defense, transform your surroundings into fortified strongholds. Use surveillance tools to track enemies and adapt to their tactics.

    – On attack, gather intel on enemy positions and the bomb site with your drones. Coordinate with your team to breach defenses and strike from unexpected angles.

    TOOLS OF DESTRUCTION
    Destruction is more than chaos; it is a key tool for your success. Use the environment to your advantage – turn walls into windows of opportunity.

    DUAL FRONT: DYNAMIC TACTICAL 6v6 WARFARE
    Engage in intense 6v6 battles, where attackers and defenders fight side by side and push to capture enemy sectors while defending their own.
    Select an operator among attackers and defenders, fighting side by side and unlocking new tactical possibilities. Respawn and enter the Neutral Sector for high-risk, high-reward assignments that can turn the tide instantly.

    FROM RECRUIT TO ELITE
    A solid onboarding journey for new players, including a new clearance level path that helps you learn the basics progressively and build the skills and confidence you need before jumping into tactical action.

    This game leverages Smart Delivery allowing access to both the Xbox One title and the Xbox Series X|S title.

    Internet connection, Ubisoft account, Microsoft Account and Game Pass Ultimate or Core (subscriptions sold separately) required to access online multiplayer/features.


    Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege X - Elite Edition

    Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege X – Elite Edition

    Ubisoft


    ☆☆☆☆☆
    2211


    ★★★★★



    $19.99

    $14.99


    The Elite Edition includes:
    – Access to Quick Match, Unranked and Dual Front game modes with a selection of operators
    – Access to Ranked playlists and Siege Cup
    – Instant unlock of 16 additional operators

    Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege X is the undisputed reference in tactical team shooters, where elite strategy and execution triumph.

    Siege X marks the biggest evolution in its history, and deepens the game’s tactical core.

    HIGH STAKES 5v5 ATTACK VS. DEFENSE
    Alternate between attack and defense, adapting your approach to operators and maps. Feel the thrill and intensity of the action as you leverage next-level destruction and gadgetry to outsmart your opponents in every round.

    – On defense, transform your surroundings into fortified strongholds. Use surveillance tools to track enemies and adapt to their tactics.

    – On attack, gather intel on enemy positions and the bomb site with your drones. Coordinate with your team to breach defenses and strike from unexpected angles.

    TOOLS OF DESTRUCTION
    Destruction is more than chaos; it is a key tool for your success. Use the environment to your advantage – turn walls into windows of opportunity.

    DUAL FRONT: DYNAMIC TACTICAL 6v6 WARFARE
    Engage in intense 6v6 battles, where attackers and defenders fight side by side and push to capture enemy sectors while defending their own.

    Select an operator among attackers and defenders, fighting side by side and unlocking new tactical possibilities. Respawn and enter the Neutral Sector for high-risk, high-reward assignments that can turn the tide instantly.

    FROM RECRUIT TO ELITE
    A solid onboarding journey for new players, including a new clearance level path that helps you learn the basics progressively and build the skills and confidence you need before jumping into tactical action.

    Dual Front mode is not supported on Xbox One.

    This game leverages Smart Delivery allowing access to both the Xbox One title and the Xbox Series X|S title.

    Internet connection, Ubisoft account, Microsoft Account and Game Pass Ultimate or Core (subscriptions sold separately) required to access online multiplayer/features.


    Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege X - Free Access

    Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege X – Free Access

    Ubisoft


    ☆☆☆☆☆
    2240


    ★★★★★


    Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege X is an elite, tactical team-based shooter where superior planning and execution triumph.

    Enjoy free access to Quick Match, Unranked and Dual Front game modes with a selection of operators.
    Certain features like Ranked playlists, Siege Cup, additional operators, and cosmetics, require payment to unlock.

    Siege X marks the biggest evolution in its history, that deepen the game’s tactical core.

    HIGH STAKES 5v5 ATTACK VS. DEFENSE
    Alternate between attack and defense, adapting your approach to operators and maps. Feel the thrill and intensity of the action as you leverage next-level destruction and gadgetry to outsmart your opponents in every round.
    On defense, transform your surroundings into fortified strongholds. Use surveillance tools to track enemies and adapt to their tactics.
    On attack, gather intel on enemy positions and the bomb site with your drones. Coordinate with your team to breach defenses and strike from unexpected angles.

    TOOLS OF DESTRUCTION
    Destruction is more than chaos, it is a key tool for your success. Use the environment to your advantage — turn walls into windows of opportunity.

    DUAL FRONT: DYNAMIC TACTICAL 6v6 WARFARE
    Engage in intense 6v6 battles, where attackers and defenders fighting side by side push to capture enemy sectors while defending their own.

    FROM RECRUIT TO ELITE
    A solid onboarding journey for new players, including a new clearance level path, helping you learn progressively the basics and build the skills and confidence before jumping into tactical action.

    Dual Front mode is not supported on Xbox One.
    This game leverages Smart Delivery allowing access to both the Xbox One title and the Xbox Series X|S title.

    This game leverages Smart Delivery allowing access to both the Xbox One title and the Xbox Series X|S title.

    Internet connection, Ubisoft account, Microsoft Account and Game Pass Ultimate or Core (subscriptions sold separately) required to access online multiplayer/features.

    Mike Nelson, Xbox Wire Editor

    Source link

  • Assassin’s Creed Mirage will get fresh content later this year and it’ll be completely free

    The Assassin’s Creed fanbase may be waiting for the first DLC for Assassin’s Creed Shadows, but Ubisoft instead confirmed new content for its previous title, Assassin’s Creed Mirage. The studio announced on the official Assassin’s Creed X account that there will be a new story chapter and missions for protagonist Basim, who will venture into ninth-century alUla. More importantly, the DLC will be free.

    According to the post, Ubisoft will bring gameplay improvements to both the new content and the base game, which revisits the franchise‘s roots that emphasize open-world design and stealth combat. The announcement from Ubisoft comes after a Les Echos report earlier in the year said that new content for Assassin’s Creed Mirage was created thanks to a partnership between Ubisoft and Savvy Games Group, a gaming and esports company that has backing from the Saudi Arabian government.

    The upcoming DLC sheds more light on what Stephane Boudon, one of the Ubisoft developers for Assassin’s Creed Mirage, teased during a Reddit AMA following the game’s release in October 2023. In the thread, Boudon said the game was designed “as a standalone experience without any DLC plan,” only adding that the team had “ideas of how we could extend the story of Basim.” Ubisoft didn’t specify exactly when the DLC would drop, only revealing that it would be “later this year.” In the meantime, Microsoft updated its included games for the Xbox Game Pass for August, which include Assassin’s Creed Mirage.

    Jackson Chen

    Source link

  • The Division 2: Survivors will bring ‘survival extraction’ to the series

    On Friday, Ubisoft announced… something. The company describes The Division 2: Survivors as “an updated take on the survival extraction experience.” Is it DLC? Is it a new game mode? We have no idea. But Ubisoft said it will “strive for transparency during its development.” Unfortunately, that didn’t apply to its announcement.

    Ubisoft said Survivors is in its early stages, which may explain the lack of detail. Other media outlets have reported that it will come in 2026. But the company’s franchise roadmap places its release date under “TBA.”

    “The Division 2: Survivors is as much your baby as it is ours, and we strive for transparency during its development,” Executive Producer Julian Gerighty wrote in the announcement blog post. “Clear communication and community involvement are a focus as we build the new experience, and we will be closely involving you as we move forward on the development journey.”

    Ubisoft also confirmed that its free-to-play mobile game is still in the pipeline. The Division Resurgence is expected this year. The company announced a delay last summer.

    A Redditor who played a beta version in 2023 described it in less than appealing terms. “Overall, Resurgence is a console clone of The Division, where you can team up and play with clunky, small mobile controls.” To be fair, much could have changed in its development since then. Regardless, you can sign up for the closed beta on Ubisoft’s website.

    Will Shanklin

    Source link

  • Netflix’s Splinter Cell: Deathwatch animated series arrives on October 14

    Ubisoft still isn’t giving us a new Splinter Cell game, but Sam Fisher fans are at least getting an animated TV adaptation very soon. At this week’s Anime NYC convention, Netflix revealed a new teaser trailer for the upcoming Splinter Cell: Deathwatch and confirmed that the series will come to the service on October 14.

    Written by John Wick creator Derek Kolstad and starring Liev Schreiber as an older — but still decidedly badass — Sam Fisher, Splinter Cell: Deathwatch was first back in 2020, but we hadn’t learned much more until now. In the brief trailer, we see the National Security Agency’s most reliable stealth operative doing a fair bit of his trademark sneaking around in the shadows, after returning to the field for what he calls a “personal” mission. I also quite like how liberally the iconic Splinter Cell night vision goggles sound is used in the trailer.

    The voice cast also includes The Sandman’s Kirby Howell-Baptise as Zinnia McKenna, an original character, and Janet Garvey as Anna Grimsdottir, a fellow agent who provided tech support to Fisher in the Splinter Cell games. The trailer itself doesn’t give much away about the plot, but we do see the grave of Douglas Shetland, a close friend of Fisher who he was ordered to eliminate in fan favorite game entry, Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory.

    Ubisoft is doing some interesting things in the adult animation space. The completely Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix reimagined Rayman as a foul-mouthed TV host and is littered with deep cut Ubisoft references. And somewhat inevitably, an animated Assassin’s Creed show is also in development, though we don’t have a date for that one yet.

    Matt Tate

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  • The Rogue Prince of Persia is officially out for PC and consoles

    Ubisoft and Evil Empire’s long-awaited The Rogue Prince of Persia is finally out and available for purchase. It’s been in early access on Steam for over a year and the developers have made plenty of changes during that time to get the game ready for a general launch.

    It’s available for PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store, Xbox Series X/S and PS5. It’s also playable in the cloud by using the Xbox Cloud service, Ubisoft+ and Amazon Luna. Nintendo fans will have to wait a bit longer. The game’s coming to the Switch and Switch 2, but not until later this year.

    For the uninitiated, The Rogue Prince of Persia is a sidescrolling roguelike with plenty of fast-paced action and a graceful move set inspired by other games in the franchise. Co-developer Evil Empire is the company behind the iconic Dead Cells, which is also a sidescrolling roguelike.

    Since launching in early access, developers have added more biomes and a new story, in addition to refining the gameplay and character designs. If you’ve been hankering for a new roguelike with some light Metroidvania elements (just like Dead Cells), this could be the game you’ve been waiting for. It costs $30.

    Lawrence Bonk

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  • Terrifying Watch Dogs-Like Smart Glasses Make It Possible To Dox Strangers On The Street

    Terrifying Watch Dogs-Like Smart Glasses Make It Possible To Dox Strangers On The Street

    In Ubisoft’s open-world game Watch Dogs (and its sequels), you can quickly scan any NPC you meet and discover facts about them, including their name, address, criminal record, and so on. And now two people have essentially created this tech in real life using Meta’s smart glasses and mostly off-the-shelf tech and software, providing a scary glimpse at our future.

    Agatha All Along Star Sasheer Zamata On Witchcraft And Star Trek

    As reported by 404 Media, two Harvard students have built working smart glasses that use facial recognition technology to automatically identify someone via their face. Not only that, but the glasses then use that information to track down other details about the stranger including their address, phone number, past photos, and family members. According to the two students, AnhPhu Nguyen and Caine Ardayfio, they did this to raise awareness of what is possible with current tech and they have no plans to release it publicly.

    Nguyen and Ardayfio call the project I-XRAY and showed a demo of it in action earlier this week on social media. In the video posted to Twitter, the pair were able to identify multiple strangers without asking them for any details, though some of the data proved to be inaccurate when the duo talked to the people.

    “The motivation for this was mainly because we thought it was interesting, it was cool,” Nguyen told 404 Media. Apparently, other people they showed it to also thought it was “really cool” and some suggested it could be used for “networking” or to “make funny videos.” However, thankfully, someone also mentioned to them how incredibly dangerous this tech could be in the wrong hands. “Some dude could just find some girl’s home address on the train and just follow them home,” said Nguyen.

    As pointed out by 404 Media, this kind of smart-glasses-facial-scanning tech has been around for a few years now. But Google and Facebook, two companies who were working on it, eventually decided to not release their software.

    But you don’t need big tech resources and money to build your own Watch Dogs super glasses that can instantly dox anyone you meet on the street. Nguyen and Ardayfio’s I-XRAY uses Meta’s Ray Bans and the publicly available face recognition service Pimeyes to scan someone’s face with hidden cameras in the glasses and then identify them. That info is then used to scrape the web for phone numbers, other photos, family information, and addresses.

    “We would show people photos of them from kindergarten, and they had never even seen the photo before,” said Ardayfio. “Most people were surprised by how much data they have online.” One time, they were able to show a stranger their mom’s phone number after simply scanning their face.

    “I think people could definitely take [the idea of I-XRAY] and run with it,” Ardayfio said. “If people do run with this idea, I think that’s really bad. I would hope that awareness that we’ve spread on how to protect your data would outweigh any of the negative impacts this could have.” The duo has included information on how to protect yourself in a large document about the project that is freely available online.

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    Zack Zwiezen

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  • Great Game Deals, Shooter Recs, And More Tips Of The Week

    Great Game Deals, Shooter Recs, And More Tips Of The Week

    Image: Ryu Ga Gotoku Studios / Sega

    At the beginning of the year, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth launched a hell of an opening salvo. The latest installment in the long-running Like a Dragon/Yakuza series is comically full of things to do. On one hand, it’s a turn-based RPG epic, splitting its narrative between two larger-than-life protagonists in entirely different settings complete with their own villains, party members, and side stories. On the other hand, it is more game than anybody could possibly need, housing several side activities, minigames, and at least two-full sized games within itself. If you’re a person whose chief concern about a game is getting the absolute most bang for your buck, there has rarely been a better game to pick up than Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, which is now discounted at $42 on both PlayStation and Steam. – Moises Taveras Read More

    Kotaku Staff

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  • Star Wars Outlaws Is A Crappy Masterpiece

    Star Wars Outlaws Is A Crappy Masterpiece

    I was staring at a wall. It was an early mission in Ubisoft’s latest behemothic RPG, Star Wars Outlaws, in which I was charged with infiltrating an Empire base to recover some information from a computer, and this wall really caught my attention.

    Screenshot: Ubisoft / Kotaku

    It was a perfect wall. It absolutely captured that late-70s sci-fi aesthetic of dark gray cladding broken up by utilitarian-gray panels covered in dull blinking lights, and I stopped to think about how much work must have gone into that wall. Looking elsewhere on the screen, I was then overwhelmed. This wall was the most bland thing in a vast hanger, where TIE Fighters hung from the ceiling, Stormtroopers wandered in groups below, and even the little white sign with the yellow arrow looked like it was a decade old, meticulously crafted to fit into this universe. I felt sheer astonishment at the achievement of this. Ubisoft, via multiple studios across the whole world, and the work of thousands of deeply talented people, had built this impossibly perfect area for one momentary scene that I was intended to run straight past.

    Except I ran past it three times, because the AI kept fucking up and I was restarted at a checkpoint right before that gray wall over and over.

    Kay stands in front of a planet-set, with rocky mountains against the orange sky.

    Screenshot: Ubisoft / Kotaku

    I’m struggling to capture the dissonance of this moment. This sense of absolute awe, almost unbelieving admiration that it’s even possible to build games at this scale and at this detail, slapped hard around the face by the bewilderingly bad decisions that take place within it all.

    To be excited about a beautifully crafted wall is to set yourself up for an aneurysm when you start to notice the tiny, inflecting details on characters’ faces, or the scrupulous idle animations of a bored guard. Then as I tried to conceive that this same level of care was taking place across thousands of locations in multiple cities over a handful of planets, my genuine thought was: “It’s ridiculous that we mark these games on the same criteria as others.” How can someone look at this, this majesty, and say, “Hmmm, seven out of ten?” And then a guard sees me through a solid hillside and ruins fifteen minutes of painstaking stealth, and I wonder how it can be on sale at all.

    In 2024, we have reached the most deeply peculiar place, where AAA games are feats that humanity would once have recognized as literal wonders, and yet play with the same irritating issues and tedious repetition as we saw in the 90s. This contrast, this dissonance, is absolutely fascinating.

    Flying toward a wreck in space.

    Screenshot: Ubisoft / Kotaku

    Ubisoft strikes me as the leader in this bizarre space. I have, for years, been delighted and bemused by what that company is capable of creating, albeit often not in positive ways. The Assassin’s Creed series routinely builds entire cities, even countries, in authentic detail, to the point where we almost take it for granted. It has always struck me as the most horrendous waste that a game like Assassin’s Creed Odyssey can recreate ancient Greece in such wonderful detail, and then gets thrown away, that entire digital space never used again for anything else. It could be given to the world, offered as a setting for a thousand indie games, reused and recycled as such an achievement deserves. Instead, it’s there for that single game, where we reasonably kvetch about the frustrating details of a broken quest, or at how crowd AI bugs out at crucial moments.

    And this is only to touch on the art and architecture. We’re not even mentioning the fantastic writing, the exquisite voice acting, the sound effects, the musical score, the lighting, the concept art that makes such designs possible, and the direction and leadership that can bring all these disparate parts together. All as a backdrop to my repeating the run across the gantry because a distant AI decided to be triggered by a Nix it couldn’t possibly see, or because that time when I pressed Square it decided to throw a punch instead of trigger a takedown.

    Kay stares at an industrial complex.

    Screenshot: Ubisoft / Kotaku

    I’m old enough to remember a time when we’d lament that a beautifully drawn point-and-click adventure was no fun to play, and be so disappointed that such lovely artistic skill had been the backdrop for illogical puzzles and bad writing. Imagine the camera shot pulling out from that adventure game and revealing the room it’s in, the house that contains that room, the town that house is in, the city that town forms part of, and the country in which that city exists—that gets you close to the scale at which the same issue plagues us 40 years later.

    Just that opening city in Outlaws, Mirogana, is more than gaming was capable of ten years ago, let alone 40. It, alone, would be enough for an entire game, with plots and missions and characters. And it’s a blip in this game’s mindblowing breadth. I cannot over-express the scale of what’s offered here, and how incongruous it feels that it can all feel so easily dismissed given such fundamental errors. Errors that mean the game attracts headlines like, “Star Wars Outlaws Is Too Simplistic For Its Own Good.” And I get it! I know what the article means! It’s right that its stealth is banal and badly implemented, and yet such a core element of the game. But God damn, why are we able to reasonably call this creation “simplistic”?

    I’ve no idea what the solution can possibly be, but I feel it sits somewhere in a new order of priority. One that involves scaling back the ambition of everything that a large-scale developer knows it can achieve, and re-focuses resources on fixing the absolute basics that it so often cannot. Because the tragedy of a piece of art like Outlaws—or any number of other architectural masterpieces that we see come and go in this industry every month—being able to be sniffed at with a (deserved) 7/10, is too awful.

    Read More: Star Wars Outlaws: The Kotaku Review

    At Gamescom this year, I saw a talk (currently embargoed) about how wind will cause a game’s world to behave differently, and on one level it was incredible stuff, a technological marvel. But on another, it’s going to offer absolutely nothing if that game’s basic loops are dreary, or if the enemy AI is going to endlessly run into beautifully rendered walls. It could end up being a 7/10 game with technologically astounding wind.

    And so I come back to that wall. And I thank everyone involved in making it so special, the artists who spent so long ensuring it felt authentic, and the level designers who placed it, and the people responsible for collision detection who ensured I couldn’t walk through it, and the people who coded the Snowdrop engine so it could exist at all, and the producers who encouraged the developers who implemented it, and every single person who was in some way responsible for making me that wall to momentarily stare at. And I wish I hadn’t had to sneak past it quite so many times.

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    John Walker

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