E3 2016 Roundup: Ubisoft Edition!
Nicole Smith ’18 / Emertainment Monthly Assistant Video Games Editor
2016 marks Ubisoft’s 30th year in the game industry, so let’s take a look at what their conference had to offer!
This October will see Just Dance 2017 hitting shelves, and Ghost Recon: Wildlands was given a co-op gameplay demo and a release date of March 7th. Trey Parker and Matt Stone visited the Ubisoft stage to discuss South Park: The Fractured But Whole, the sequel to 2014’s South Park: The Stick of Truth. The game features a dozen playable classes, a mix-and-match array of powers, and an improved combat system. Players can get their hands on the new South Park game December 6th.
More information was given about the upcoming DLCs for Tom Clancy’s The Division. To commemorate Ubisoft’s 30th anniversary, Division players will soon receive three new outfits, fashioned around other Tom Clancy games—Ghost Recon, Rainbow Six, and Splinter Cell. Another DLC, entitled Survival, will be available for Division players to experience harrowing environmental and weather events in-game.
The VR market will be welcoming Eagle Flight this fall, as well as a brand new title, Star Trek: Bridge Crew. Also available this fall, gameplay and additional information was provided by The Next Generation’s Levar Burton, Star Trek 2009’s Karl Urban, and Voyager’s Jeri Ryan.
After a look at For Honor’s multiplayer gameplay last year, Ubisoft gave viewers a taste of the game’s single player campaign. For Honor will be available February 14th, and Grow Up, a sequel to 2015’s Grow Home, will be available this August.
Ubisoft also had a game available as soon as the end of their conference in Trials of the Blood Dragon, the newest ‘80s-themed installment in the Trials series. Behind the scenes footage of Fox’s Assassin’s Creed film was shown, including interviews with producer and star Michael Fassbender, and the future of Ubisoft’s movie franchises was revealed to include a future Watch Dogs title.
Speaking of Watch Dogs, footage and gameplay for November 15th’s Watch Dogs 2 was presented. DLC content will be available for PS4 30 days earlier than any other platform.
Finally, Ubisoft announced its new IP, Steep. Steep is a sports title set in the French Alps, with less focus on win-or-lose competition and more on completing challenges, doing tricks, and exploring the mountain with friends. Steep will be available this December.
Keep checking back for more E3 coverage!