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Ubisoft has announced major changes in its development pipeline with a string of game delays and cancellations. The upcoming action-adventure “Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora” will no longer launch this year, while the publisher also canceled a couple of games from fan-favorite franchises.
Ubisoft delays ‘Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora’
The first “Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora” trailer was released last year during the virtual E3 2021, where the publisher announced the game would be released this year. Since then, however, Ubisoft has been quiet about its development.
Ubisoft confirmed in its quarterly financial report released on Thursday that the “Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora” release has been moved to its 2023-24 fiscal year. This means the game will be released sometime between April next year and March 2024. Ubisoft said a “smaller unannounced premium game” is also delayed to the same launch window.
“We are committed to delivering a cutting-edge immersive experience that takes full advantage of next-gen technology, as this amazing global entertainment brand represents a major multi-year opportunity for Ubisoft,” the publisher said. “Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora” will be released on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC, Google Stadia, and Amazon Luna.
Gameplay and story details are mostly under wraps. But the “Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora” trailer indicates that the open-world game will let players assume the role of a Na’vi in Pandora in first-person. Massive Entertainment is developing the game using its Snowdrop engine.
It does not look like the game will feature characters from the James Cameron film, but RDA forces will still be the main antagonists. “Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora” is also set in a region called Western Frontier, which the game’s official description says has not been explored yet in the franchise.
‘Ghost Recon Frontline’ and ‘Splinter Cell VR’ are canceled
Shortly after Ubisoft announced the delay of “Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora,” reports emerged online that the publisher has ultimately canceled “Ghost Recon Frontline” and “Splinter Cell VR” projects. “Ghost Recon Frontline” was announced as a battle-royale multiplayer with 100-player gameplay but faced backlash immediately after it was unveiled last October.
“Splinter Cell VR,” on the other hand, was announced back in 2020 and was supposed to launch on Meta (formerly Oculus) VR headsets. But Ubisoft said these titles, along with two unannounced projects, have been scrapped due to a “more uncertain economic environment.”
