Ubisoft says it needed to work on Avatar and Star Wars at the time

Specifically, Banchereau says in an interview with MP1st that The Division 2 updates were planned to end due to the studio’s obligations with other projects at the time:

Yes, the plan was after Update 12, at the end of 2020, the plan was to stop supporting the game… We started working on the Star Wars game, we have the Avatar game. Everybody’s very busy at Massive and the idea was that we just need the people on those projects.

He clarifies that this isn’t because Ubisoft thought “The Division was bad,” though after the release of the Warlords of New York DLC, the game was “probably more successful” than the publisher had anticipated.

Since Ubisoft didn’t want to pull people already assigned to other projects, it decided to team up with Ubisoft Bucharest. It took a while for the studio to learn everything about The Division 2, but he believes Year 5 content will impress fans.

Accordingly, The Division 3 is apparently not in development, though that’s not too much of a surprise considering that they have plenty of work to do with The Division Heartland and The Division Resurgence.

The post The Division 2 Support Was Meant to End Two Years After Release appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

The tweet that started the Ubisoft Star Wars 2023 release date rumors

Happy New Year to you all.
2023 is going to be huge for us.
Join the adventure.#MassiveStarWars pic.twitter.com/NGqKMXImpc

— Julian Gerighty (@jgerighty) January 1, 2023

When Gerighty wished players a Happy New Year on January 1 and said that “2023 is going to be huge for us,” a lot of people thought he was suggesting the game in the picture, Ubisoft’s Star Wars, would be released this year. It seems like that won’t be the case, though, as Gerighty followed it up with another cryptic tweet two days later that clarified “I meant that 2023 will be huge for our teams building our game (which you could be a part of!).”

While it seems like the game is still a way off from hitting consoles, with some not expecting to see the game before 2025, the tweet definitely suggests we will be hearing more about it. Very little has been said about the game since its announcement nearly two years ago with the exception of rumors. For players to get involved, there may even be playtesting opportunities and we’ll be sure to let you know if we hear anything more along those lines.

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Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora rumored to release in November

Leak: Ubisofts Avatar Frontiers of Pandora is planned to release November 18, before the movie in December. It’s a first person open world action adventure game. #Avatar #Xbox #PlayStation pic.twitter.com/4IzivbDubv

— Rebs Gaming (@Mr_Rebs_) June 30, 2022

According to the leak, the release date for Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is November 18, 2022. Leaker Rebs Gaming dropped the info in a post on Twitter, and Tom Henderson backed it up, saying he heard the same thing through his sources. Presumably, Ubisoft will host a full reveal of the game at some point between now and November. However, the studio hasn’t scheduled any events at this point.

Frontiers of Pandora has been in development since at least March 2017, which is when Massive Entertainment announced it was working on a game based on the Avatar franchise. However, many thought it had been canceled or was in development hell when four years passed without news. However, at E3 2021, we got a short trailer that revealed the game’s name that confirmed it was still on the way.

Details on the game are scarce, but we do know players will take the role of a Na’vi fighting against the RDA. It’s a standalone story set in the Western Frontier and takes the form of an open-world action-adventure game. It’s also one of the first AAA games from Ubisoft to be current-gen only. Hopefully, that means we’ll see some amazing visuals and lighting and fewer loading screens.

The big question (besides whether the game will be good or not) is if the Avatar name will attract customers for the game or the movie. It was hot back in 2009, but many things have changed since then.

In other news, the God of War: Ragnarok news reveal got pushed back, and we may know the release date for the new Need for Speed.

The post Alleged Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora Release Date Leaks appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

The Division 2 Update for June 9 patch notes

The Division 2 June 9 Patch:

• Added the Backpacks for the Fairview Crew Apparel Event!
• Hotzone & Meltdown outfit completions will now receive mask rewards.
• Fixed an issue where a red overlay light that was present in the Apparel Event Screens.

Those looking forward to backpacks being added by the new Fairview Crew Apparel Event can now unlock them. What’s more, players completing the Hotzone and Meltdown challenges will now receive their mask rewards. Lastly, those annoyed by the red overlay light that was appearing in the Apparel Event screens will be happy to hear that the issue has been resolved.

Following the update, it seems that some players are having trouble loading back into the game. It’s possible that the game’s servers are steadily moving back up to capacity and so players are recommended to wait a little bit longer.

Those still having issues with the game should monitor the official @TheDivisionGame Twitter account for any official messaging. The developers often tweet out acknowledgements of server issues and other problems, as well as notifying players of what’s currently being worked on and if downtime will be required.

In other PlayStation news, Resident Evil 2, 3, and 7 are rumored to be releasing on PS5 soon. The Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 open beta is heading to PlayStation first. God of War Ragnarok release date rumors are fueling speculations of a delay.

The post The Division 2 Update for June 9 Adds Apparel Event Backpacks, Fixes Mask Rewards, and More appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

Ubisoft Star Wars project isn’t expected to launch before 2025

According to known insider Tom Henderson, Ubisoft has “a lot” of games in development and is planning a “massive” showcase to unveil some of them. Unfortunately, however, Star Wars isn’t one of them because it’s unlikely to see the light of day before 2025. In light of this, a cross-gen release is curious especially because it doesn’t look like Massive is re-using an old job description. The role in question is that of a Senior Sound Designer specifically for the Star Wars project. Candidates are expected to have an understanding of “PS4, Xbox One, and PC audio functionality, capabilities, and limitations.”

This doesn’t confirm or deny a cross-gen release, of course, but it’s noteworthy nonetheless. As far as the project itself is concerned, little is known about it but according to the aforementioned advertisement, Ubisoft wants to “do justice with a game and story that bring both new and lifelong fans on an immersive and outstanding journey that will stay with them for years.”

Opinion: Hopefully, Ubisoft’s Star Wars isn’t cross-gen

Zarmena writes… I understand the allure of cross-gen releases considering the ongoing shortages and install base of last-gen vs. current-gen consoles, but a game that’s supposedly years away from release launching on a PS4 doesn’t sound like a good idea. Time and time again, developers have acknowledged the pressure of having to release ambitious, demanding games on dated platforms alongside new hardware but publishers continue to favor cross-gen releases for financial reasons. Here’s hoping Ubisoft isn’t enforcing cross-gen development here.

In other news, Guerrilla Games has teased a Horizon Forbidden West sequel, and Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is getting some free content next week.

[Source: Massive Entertainment via GameRant]

The post Ubisoft Massive’s Star Wars Game Might Be Cross-Gen appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

The departure of Massive Entertainment studio head is only one of many

Alongside Ubisoft’s main Montreal studio, Massive Entertainment has also swelled in its operations, employing approximately 750 people and now also in charge of both a Star Wars title and an Avatar title. But the sheer immensity of the studio was part of the reason Polfeldt decided to hand in his resignation, according to an interview on Hit Points:

“I think my philosophy and my skills work well for a certain kind of group of a certain kind of size. I don’t think I’m the right manager for what the studio has become. I’m perfectly at peace with it.”

His departure is merely one of numerous resignations from Ubisoft that the publisher has faced in the past six months, an event which has collectively been dubbed a “great exodus.” Frustrations over low pay, creative direction, the inclusion of NFTs, and mishandling over workplace misconduct were all cited as reasons why over 60 workers have chosen to leave Ubisoft. Many of the developers who are no longer there worked on Far Cry 6 and Assassin’s Creed Valhalla.

A Better Ubisoft, a group of more than one thousand current and former Ubisoft employees, posted a Tweet on February 14 that the demands they made of the company on August 11, 2021 had sadly not been met. The demands include not promoting offenders and moving them from studio to studio. In an open letter, they say that are “tired of having to repeatedly explain these seemingly obvious points to a management team who are either accidentally ignorant or simply don’t want to listen.”

In other news, Roblox has pretty much been confirmed for PS4 and PS5, and the Dead Space remake is now planned for a release in early 2023.

The post Massive Entertainment’s Studio Head Leaves Ubisoft appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

Polfeldt first joined Sweden-based Massive Entertainment back in 2005. He eventually became the one-time indie studio’s Managing Director in 2009, after Ubisoft acquired Massive in 2008. Under his management, the studio would go on to produce several big-name titles such as Assassin’s Creed: Revelations, Far Cry 3, and both Tom Clancy’s The Division games.

Additionally, the company recently signed with Disney’s Lucasfilm Games to produce a new open-world Star Wars title. Massive also unveiled its new action-adventure title Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora during E3 2021 last week.

In a blog post announcing his leave, Polfeldt explained some of the reasons why he decided to step down. After the signing of the Star Wars game along with the completion of the studio’s new building in 2020, he “felt an overwhelming sense of completion, as if [he] had achieved everything [he] once dreamt of.” Polfeldt added,

I am exceptionally grateful for what we have accomplished together. Before I embark on a new adventure in Ubisoft, I will try something else which is new and exciting to me: a long break! Wish me luck, and see you in 2022.

Polfeldt’s resignation as Managing Director of Ubisoft’s Massive Entertainment comes a year after abuse allegations around Ubisoft surfaced from current and former members of the company. After the reports of abuse came to light, many members of Ubisoft management were let go or resigned from their positions. Allegations also came from Massive Entertainment, where a former employee stated that their team leader forced them to reciprocate romantic advances. Another HR member was also accused of propositioning a fellow employee in exchange for a promotion. It does not appear that Polfeldt’s six-month hiatus from the company is related to those allegations.

[Source: Massive Entertainment, Gamasutra]

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Players assume the role of a Na’vi as they head into the Western Frontier, a completely new region of Pandora that has a host of new characters and creatures. The new first look trailer started in a more familiar jungle environment before giving an impressive view of Pandora’s floating mountains. Bioluminescent areas show off radiant flora, woodsprites, and Polyphemus gas giants. A peaceful Na’vi community can be found on an open plain. There’s also glimpses of familiar fauna such as hexapedes and direhorses, as well as a few new creatures.

The tone of the trailer changes when it heads into a Resources Development Administration (RDA) facility full to the brim with advanced military equipment. This includes the Amplified Mobility Platform (AMP suit) and Samson and Scorpion gunships. Take a look at the escalating conflict below.

The new Avatar title was first revealed back in 2017 although players were warned not to expect the game before 2020. That window was later updated to fiscal year 22, meaning it wouldn’t be released before April 2022. The game aims to “deepen the Avatar universe in exciting and innovative ways” and will be part of the whole media experience that also includes four movie sequels from James Cameron. Avatar 2 is due to be released in theaters in December 2022, with the others following in 2024, 2026, and 2028.

Once rumored to be titled Avatar: Pandora Rising, the game went into hiding and this is the first real glimpse we’ve had over the last four years. The game will be released on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Google Stadia, Amazon Luna, and PC in 2022.

[Source: Ubisoft]

The post Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is a Standalone Action-Adventure Experience Coming to PS5 appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

Fiscal year 22 will be the year the publisher takes the first step towards “ramping up” their free to play output. They’ll also begin focusing on the mobile market, aiming for AAA quality on mobile. Ubisoft wants to see their brands as AAA titles and on mobile platforms, a model they’re adopting with the upcoming Roller Champions. The first title created with Tencent, rumored to be an Assassin’s Creed mobile title, will also see a soft launch towards the end of the period. As CFO Frederick Duguet explains:

In fiscal 22, we continue our evolution from a AAA release-centric model towards a model where AAAs stand alongside new premium and free-to-play innovative experiences across platforms. These diverse experiences will feed on each other through complimentary gameplay and business models.

[…]We said for a number of years that our normal template is to come either with three or four AAA games, so we’ll stick to this pattern for fiscal 2022. But we see that we are progressively, continuously moving from a model that used to be only focused on AAA releases to a model where we have a combination of strong releases from AAAs and strong back catalog dynamics, but also complimenting our program of new releases with free-to-play and other premium experiences.

Ubisoft has learned a lot from the acquisition of Brawlhalla, especially in regards to multiplayer and a live service model. They introduced a Battle Pass over the summer that increased player engagement, and they’ve implemented cross-play between all consoles and PC. The game’s availability on multiple platforms is a model the publisher wants to apply to other franchises too. The beleaguered Hyper Scape also taught the company how to make a robust structure to handle many players. The team didn’t mention their future plans for this title as it undergoes a radical redesign.

These intentions aren’t too surprising when you realise that not only did Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla earn record revenue for the franchise, but their casual titles are also blooming. Just Dance 2021 saw a sharp increase in net bookings compared to Just Dance 2020 — it was the best selling franchise title in the last six years. The back catalogue also saw a 200% surge. The good news is that if the company moves away from an emphasis on AAA titles, they won’t be likely to increase the price on many, if any of their titles.

As confirmed by Duguet, the fiscal year 22 release slate will include three AAA titles. Of the known releases, the delayed Far Cry 6 and Rainbow Six Quarantine are considered AAA games. Other titles include the troubled Skull and Bones, Riders Republic, the remake of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and Roller Champions. They mentioned a “few other surprises are in the works” too.

Further on, Massive Entertainment has their Star Wars title. Ubisoft confirmed there was a lot of interest on working on the title and lots of people wanted to participate. As the game is in the early stages of development, there is no estimated release window yet. Massive will also continue to create more content for The Division 2, which is currently celebrating the 25th anniversary of Resident Evil with a crossover event, as well as double XP all week.

[Source: Ubisoft (1, 2)]

The post Ubisoft Will No Longer Focus Purely on AAA Titles, Ramping Up Free-to-Play Games This Year appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

The Division 2 director Julian Gerighty will serve as director for this untitled project, though don’t expect news or updates for a while yet. Massive is still recruiting for the project right now. Lucasfilm Games has been working with the team for nearly a year getting the project under development. No other details about the setting or characters has been provided at this time, though it’s confirmed that all new Star Wars games under the Lucasfilm Games banner will fall within the same Star Wars world and narrative canon. The galaxy far, far away is a vast universe of ideas to explore, so Massive could be setting up port almost anywhere.

Ubisoft is renowned—and sometimes derided—for its open-world games, and recent projects like Immortals Fenyx Rising have shown the publisher can break free from that traditional “Ubisoft formula” that’s become so ubiquitous in its games over the last five years or so.

We’re thrilled to announce we are working with @Ubisoft and @UbiMassive to develop a brand-new, story-driven, open-world Star Wars adventure!

Learn more about the future of @LucasfilmGames in the Star Wars galaxy and beyond: https://t.co/uO1K1pivl2 pic.twitter.com/wRDccZvi3o

— Lucasfilm Games (@LucasfilmGames) January 13, 2021

For nearly a decade, no other developers outside of EA have touched Star Wars properties. This announcement marks an enormous change moving forward, and could herald an era of new Star Wars games from many additional developers thanks to licensing from Lucasfilm Games. “We get no shortage of folks knocking on our door, wanting to play with our toys,” Douglas Reilly, VP of Lucasfilm Games, said to WIRED.

Much like the bevy of Marvel games that still require final approval from Marvel and Disney, Star Wars falls within the same vein. In order to keep consistency within the branding, Lucasfilm Games will have final say on major decisions for its properties, but developers are able to offer unique pitches and their own special flair to each title.

Though no additional developers or Star Wars games have been revealed at this time (apart from EA still making Star Wars games too), this announcement from Lucasfilm Games makes it pretty clear that the Star Wars video game universe is going to be expanding, and this is just the start.

The Lucasfilm Games formation also resulted in the announcement of an Indiana Jones game being made by Bethesda’s MachineGames. While the fruits of the Lucasfilm Games licenses probably won’t be seen for a while yet, it heralds a new era of licensed games not limited by exclusivity to an individual publisher or developer.

What developers would you like to see tackle a Star Wars project in the future?

The post Ubisoft Massive Working on an Open-World Star Wars Game Using The Division 2’s Snowdrop Engine appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.