What We Know For Sure
Ubisoft has already given us a good idea of what we should expect them to show at E3 this year, but the confirmations from the developer so far were pretty much what we already expected. Ubisoft’s E3 2017 teaser video showed off clips from South Park: The Fractured But Whole as well as a few cinematic clips from Far Cry 5. Ubisoft fans should certainly expect to get a lot more details about both titles including some gameplay footage. As usual, Ubisoft will also be showing off the next entry to the Just Dance series although we’re all hoping they will find a way to do it without a cheesy pop performance in front of a crowd of disinterested journalists.
One of the biggest, but certainly not surprising, announcements from Ubisoft came when they finally confirmed that they would be showing off the upcoming Assassin’s Creed title at E3 as well. Reports indicate that the latest addition to the series will take place in Egypt but that hasn’t actually been confirmed on Ubisoft’s end. Either way, E3 2017 will certainly give us all the information we’ve been dying to know about the Internet’s worst kept secret.
Lastly, Ubisoft will also be giving out more details about The Crew 2. The original title was released back in 2014 and turned out to be a rather impressive open world racing game. Outside of the usual new content that is expected of any new racing game, Ubisoft hasn’t said what will make The Crew’s sequel different from the original. In fact, Ubisoft just hasn’t said much about the game at all but that’s probably because they wanted to save a few surprises for E3. For those gamers who love a good surprise on E3, however, don’t think a new feature in The Crew 2 will be the bulk of the excitement coming from Ubisoft’s presence this year. There are still some major unconfirmed announcements that could possibly be revealed in a few days.
New Content For Rainbow Six Siege
Ubisoft recently kicked off the Operation Health initiative for Rainbow Six Siege, which is focused on improving the overall health of the game through bug fixes and technological improvements. It shows that Ubisoft still cares a lot about the game’s community and is willing to invest a lot of time and resources into keeping the large player base happy. Some might argue that this doesn’t really mean much for Rainbow Six Siege’s future because caring about the community and overall health of a game is simply what developers are supposed to do. Well, frankly, Ubisoft doesn’t necessarily have a shining reputation in that regard so their decision to cancel or delay some upcoming DLCs so that they could first improve the game’s health is a bit telling… and in a great way.
It doesn’t seem likely that Ubisoft would invest so much in this operation if they expected the game’s lifespan to come to an end soon. In addition to previously announced DLCs, Ubisoft likely has quite a bit up their sleeves that will keep Rainbow Six Siege’s momentum going for quite some time and that’s what we expect to hear more about at E3 this year.
A Disappointing Presentation for Year 2 of the Division
While Ubisoft has already shared quite a bit of information about their plans for The Division’s second year, it’s likely that they will dive deeper into the new features and ideas at E3. Unfortunately, diving deeper into the information that was already shared via a special livestream won’t be enough to convince anyone that The Division isn’t on a downward spiral. The year two news just felt incredibly underwhelming and it certainly doesn’t seem like it will be enticing enough to attract new players or keep the community from dwindling. Fingers crossed that we’re wrong on that. Either way, expect Ubisoft to show off some of the new content at E3.
New Splinter Cell
Social media and online forums have long been buzzing with users who desperately wanted to see the return of Splinter Cell. Well, this year just might be the year that fans of the franchise have been waiting for. While nothing has been confirmed by Ubisoft, there have been a few signs that a new Splinter Cell could be in the works. NeoGAF user Crossing Eden has garnered a reputation within the community for his track record when it comes to leaks related to Ubisoft. Last year, he took to NeoGAF to suggest that a new Splinter Cell could be in the works with Michael Ironside making his return as Sam Fisher.
While this is nothing more than a rumor, it does make sense. After all, the Splinter Cell movie is still supposed to be a thing–even if it has been trapped in development hell for a long time. It only makes sense that Ubisoft would want to keep the IP alive and healthy if they want a Splinter Cell film to be a box office hit. With producers finally speaking more openly about the film earlier this year, it seems like things could certainly be in motion for a major resurgence of Splinter Cell. The resurgence, of course, would begin with a new game first that could possibly be announced at this year’s E3.
Reveal of Pioneer — the Easter Egg From Watch Dogs 2
Ubisoft’s E3 teaser video may poke fun at all the secrets developers try to keep ahead of the annual show, but the real treat in this video is that it also does a wonderful job at dropping hints about what Ubisoft may bring to the E3 stage. We’re not just talking about confirmed game appearances either. Among the “deleted scenes” that couldn’t be shown ahead of E3 is one that reads “EASTER EGGS DEEMED PR RISK.” It could be just a general joke but it’s likely far more than that especially considering the “deleted scene” right before it that reads “New IP SAVED FOR CONFERENCE.”
What makes this so interesting is that a side mission in Watch Dogs 2 has players hack into Ubisoft’s office in the game in order to steal a teaser video for an upcoming sci-fi game titled Pioneer. Well, multiple sources have reported that the game seen in the video is actually a real game and Ubisoft’s teaser video is reason to believe that the new IP will actually be the first reveal of the actual game behind this Easter Egg.
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