Ubisoft's turning point: from involution to rebirth

Ah, dear old (and mistreated) Ubisoft! The well-known French company, now widespread in much of the world thanks to the numerous open development studies, is preparing to face 2017 with a series of titles, both new IPs and well-known franchises, which could hold great surprises for gamers. So why mistreated? In recent years, Ubisoft has been widely criticized by the community for several reasons that go from the hated downgrades to the numerous bugs found in some games. But are we sure that this company deserves all this fury? Let's look back over the last few years of Ubisoft and its main franchises, in particular from 2014: a certainly problematic period for the French studio.Let's start with one of the best known titles and more played by the community: Assassin's Creed. As always, we expect the new chapter of the series, which now comes out annually, but just that year two were released: Assassin's Creed Unity e Assassin's Creed Rogue, respectively on next-gen and old-gen. Once both are released, criticism was unleashed: Unity manifested a series of problems, while Rogue (although it was a chapter dedicated to a Templar character) it was labeled as a copy-paste of Assassin's Creed III due to its similar gameplay mechanics.

AC: Unity definitely proposed a very interesting setting (especially for the historical context), but the plot did not convince and, despite a slight improvement to the game mechanics, users found themselves faced with a work limited by an unstable framerate and numerous bugs. Even more disastrous situation on the PC version, decidedly badly optimized and able to put even the high-end configurations in difficulty. From here the decline began, not only from Ubisoft, but of the entire videogame sector; confidence was now at an all-time low and the disappointment of the fan base was beginning to weigh. The developers had to respond promptly to these problems, releasing 4 substantial patches over time that have, in part, solved the problems. But to regain a modicum of esteem, CEO Yannis Mallat issued an apology letter and the company decided to donate the “Dead Kings” DLC to players (while Season Pass owners were given a game of their choice from the Uplay library). We also mention the introduction of co-op missions designed for up to 4 players; it involved a small number of missions fairly related to the main storyline, and it probably would have been better to leave them in single-player. On the other hand you know, multiplayer and Assassin's Creed never got along.But there is never an end to the worst: 2014 was also the year of Watch Dogs "scandal": the final game proved to be different, at least graphically, from the one presented at E3 2012; only later did Ubisoft admit that the trailer was recorded on a computer with "next-gen" graphics. Initially scheduled for 2013, it was postponed to the following year, but kept the hype of the community high, eager to discover this new IP, an open-world title focused on the delicate theme of hacking and privacy (problems that characterize the daily our lives). When the game was released in both next-gen and old-gen, the symphony was always the same: game mined by bug, bad optimization on PC and a driving system indeed unconvincing (a big drawback for free-roaming). The sales were a success, but Ubisoft she found herself inundated with criticism for the obvious downgrade, leading to general discontent and loss of trust on the part of fans (an issue that had repercussions on Watch Dogs 2… but more on that later).

But let's leave the bad memories for a moment (or at least let's try) and think positive: 2014 fu also the year of Far Cry 4, sequel to an IP reborn thanks to Far Cry 3 (2012), this time much more appreciated than the other two franchises mentioned above, although not exempt from some minor criticisms. The title stood along the lines of the previous one, with a new very characteristic “villain” and a spectacular setting, the scene of a good test for the Dunia Engine 2, which however proved to be up to par. So what were the problems of Far Cry 4? Many complained about the too familiarity of the game with Far Cry 3: almost identical mechanics, a plot with ups and downs, and too repetitive side missions. Definitely a good title, but it certainly did not shine for innovation.

An honorable mention is required for Valiant Hearts: The Great War and Child of Light. The first is a title produced by Ubisoft Montpellier development studio, an adventure / puzzle game icentered on a tragic page in the history of mankind: World War I. Through a fair number of puzzles, the studio managed to churn out a touching work that has been able to convey the emotions and horrors that men have experienced engaged in one of the bloodiest conflicts in history. Also Child of Light, a platform / action RPG, conquered the community thanks to the atmosphere created by the UbiArt Framework engine (also used for Valiant Hearts), combined with an extremely relaxing and immersive soundtrack. But let's get back to us… Ubisoft therefore finds itself at the end of the year with a fanbase literally pissed off with his work, a time to forget. This serious decline has strongly affected the software house, which in 2015 he tries to retrace his steps with Assassin's Creed and prepare the return of another great franchise: Rainbow Six.The first rumors and leaks about the new chapter of Assassin's Creed come a few months after the release of Unity: this time it would have been set in Victorian London during the Second Industrial Revolution and should have been called Victory. All confirmed, except the name that will instead be transformed into Syndicate. This time the players found themselves in front of a plot in some ways innovative, told through the eyes of two Assassin brothers with different techniques and ideologies: Jacob and Evie Frye. Ubisoft fixes the shot, offering a well-optimized title, purely single-player and with many innovations both to the combat system, finally more demanding, and to movement through the introduction of the grapple. But ultimately the title has a very short lifespan, and Unity's sunburn still burns fans a lot: a number of factors that don't bring the hoped-for sales, which slightly exceed those of the predecessor.Towards the end of 2015 comes the release by Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege, Tactical FPS totally focused on multiplayer modes and communication between team members, at the expense of a classic single-player campaign. The title offers a high level of competitiveness, even if hardly appreciated by the average FPS player. The game has not fully convinced even the critics, including ours, but thanks to some decidedly successful moves by the software house, today we can say anything but. Well yes, we come to 2016, what I would dare to call the year of Ubisoft's turning point. In this case, the company has dedicated body and soul to the release of new content and patches to better adjust the direction of the game, managing to get excellent feedback from the community: after the release of the “Skull Rain“ DLC, Rainbow Six Siege has more daily active players than at launch. And that's not all, since the game will be supported for the second year (2017) with the arrival of new operators coming from the best special forces in the world (although, let me tell you, we find the great absence of the Spanish forces).As mentioned above, 2016 is a year of change for Ubisoft: going in chronological order, we find Far Cry Primal. The software house understands the mistakes made with the previous chapter, too repetitive, and decides to completely upset the game. Then he creates a spin-off with a completely different setting and historical context and, consequently, the equipment, fauna, techniques and gameplay have been adapted to the period. This time Ubisoft hits the mark, positively conquering both critics and the community; the plot is not crazy, but this change has definitely brought a breath of fresh air to the series. But now let's talk about the biggest case that hit the software house last year ... FINISH HIM!

..Tom Clancy's The Division, open world / action RPG title. Many will remember his presentation at E3: a gameplay with breathtaking graphics, set in a snowy New York, desolate and destroyed by a strange infection. A post-apocalyptic context in which it fits a multiplayer concept that seemed to be every player's erotic dream: the Dark Zone, a real no-man's land where there are no rules. Division Agents can either cooperate or kill each other, the choice is in the hands of the player. Once released, as happened for Watch Dogs, players are faced with an impressive downgrade and numerous bugs: here comes a new shower of insults on Ubisoft and Massive Entertainment. As time goes by, and updates, the game finds itself having an unbalanced PvP, while the PvE becomes more and more unplayable (enemies defined as bullet sponges); the developers are literally on the ropes of the ring and in August they admit that the game "is broken".

From here, Ubisoft takes action, decides to intervene and save The Division: sends a task force of developers to the Massive Entertainment studio, by making all their work focus on bug fixes and game balance, moving the release of DLCs scheduled for year I. And, as happened for Rainbow Six Siege, the results arrive: after a general abandonment, The Division's servers return to populate themselves, symptom of the great quality of the work done, combined with the release of an excellent DLC which is "Lotta per la vita".

We then come to the question Watchdogs 2. At the time of the announcement, the Senior Director of the game claimed to have literally spent day and night on the forums for collect all the criticisms related to the first chapter, in such a way as to improve the second. A feedback that has been listened to by Ubisoft, now determined not to make more mistakes. But, as with Unity, the downgrade scandal still burns and sales are definitely bad. A real shame for the software house that, despite the efforts made to satisfy users, finds itself having a title widely appreciated by critics due to the various improvements made, but totally disheartened by the community. Even on PC, in particular Steam, the game has 62% fewer players than the previous one.

And finally, once again, the Assassin's Creed issue. After a long period of being used to seeing a new chapter released annually (even more than one, considering the Chronicles spin-off series), Ubisoft has decided to take some time to bring this brand back to the places it deserves. In the official note, released last February, the development team said they learned a lot from user feedback and has chosen to take a year to evolve the mechanics of the game, to ensure that it creates a unique gameplay and experience of its kind. At the moment we still don't know anything about the next chapter, even if some leaks in Watch Dogs 2 suggest a game set in Egypt. (However, we must still remember that to make up for this "great" absence, Ubisoft has released the Ezio Collection). We have therefore come to today's days, Ubisoft looks to 2017 with a respectable stock portfolio: For Honor, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands, South Park: Di-Righteous Battles and the VR title Star Trek: Bridge Crew. The commitment and the desire to improve is there, and it has been shown to us, it is only a matter of time. Now no title is released 100% complete and perfect from Day One, you have to accept it. But that's why we need the contribution of the community, always in the front row to provide their feedback. Just like what happened with the Alpha of For Honor recently, and as it will happen with the beta of Ghost Recon Wildlands.

We look forward to 2017, a year certainly full of promises for the video game, with Ubisoft having many other titles in the pipeline ... how? Did someone say Splinter Cell?