E3 2021: Ubisoft Forward 2021 Overview

Showing off a bunch of titles, Ubisoft Forward was at E3 and was absolutely chock-full of information. Things kicked off with a message assuring that all filming was COVID-safe. It was presented by Neelam & Youseff, and they promised Far Cry 6, Riders Republic and Rainbow Six.

The first thing we were treated to was Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Extraction, which is set in the near future after an alien contamination began infecting the planet, always spreading & evolving. It was a CG trailer, before we were shown a bit of a gameplay walkthrough. It is a 1-3 player co-op experience (likely meaning game as a service), which sees you fighting against the alien Arcæns. There are multiple types of enemies, from the brute-like Smasher, the exploding Breacher and the menacing Apex.

Your operators will be equipped with things like an RC drone, a Prisma Hologram, and a Threat Sensor. There is also Stasis Foam, which will keep you from being infected for a short time, giving your allies time to rescue you.

Rainbow Six Extraction will be crossplay when it launches on PC, Xbox and PlayStation platforms on 16th of September.

Rocksmith was next, with the “future of music learning”: Rocksmith+. It aims to teach people how to play real guitars, with video lessons, forums and loads of songs to download to play at your leisure. It syncs with your phone to tell you how you’re doing. Again, it’s not a game, it’s a subscription-based teaching program. New songs will come every week. Rocksmith Workshop allows you to remix songs.

Then was Riders Republic, with a look at Rider’s Ridge, the place to meet other players. There was also gameplay of snowboarding, BMXing and wingsuits. Including jet-powered wingsuits! You can also just parachute somewhere and look at things. It’s coming 2nd of September 2021.

Next we saw some teases for Year Six of Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege. On 30th of June the game will go crossplay across PC, Stadia and Luna. For consoles, Xbox One and PlayStation will join the crossplay party, bringing everyone together. It ended with an animated trailer starring new operator Thunderbird.

There was then a sizzle reel for some updates to live service games. These includedTrackmania,Brawlhalla, The Crew 2 and Watch Dogs: Legion. New modes in Trackmania, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in Brawlhalla, and Wrench & Aiden in Watch Dogs Legion Bloodlines. It ended by teasing the 20th anniversary of Ghost Recon, saying that more stuff is coming to Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Breakpoint.

Just Dance 2022 popped up next feat. Todrick Hall. The game will have an exclusive version of their song Nails, Hair, Hips, Heels. The game will feature 40 songs and is coming 4th of November to PC and consoles.

Next was a look at the upcoming DLC for Assassin's Creed Valhalla. Titled Siege of Paris, taking place in ar-torn Frankia. It will include infiltration missions, new abilities, weapons, gear and enemies. It’s coming Summer 2021, with a Discovery Tour mode coming in the Autumn. They boasted that “for the first time in the Assassin’s Creed series” they would keep supporting the game into its second year, with more expansions to follow.

Then we were treated to a spoiler-filled look at Mythic Quest, a series streaming on Apple+. Then a look at Werewolves Within, a film coming to on demand platforms 25th of June, based on a VR videogame.

Next was a look at Far Cry 6. We got a first look at Dani, the protagonist, as they try to escape the country of Yara on a fishing boat with others - before it’s attacked. By El Presidente. It really showed some great acting from Giancarlo Esposito.

Then, we saw the Far Cry 6 Season Pass, letting us see things through the eyes of the villains of the franchise. Well, from Far Cry 3-5, anyway. It seems that it will also include a remastered version of Far Cry 3 - Blood Dragon.

Next we got a look at Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope, the sequel to the Switch-exclusive Ubisoft title from 2018. It sees Mario and friends, plus the Rabbids, going up against a cosmic threat. It will bring new action elements, hoping to expand the strategy element. It will also apparently be easy to learn, and hard to master. It finished off with a gameplay trailer showing the overworld and battle mechanics. It’s coming to Nintendo Switch in 2022.

Penultimately, we had a few words from Yves Guilmont, talking about the company and the industry as a whole. He also reminded us that Ubisoft is the only company making games in Nintendo’s Mario universe. 

Finishing off, we got a first look at a game in the Snowdrop engine. Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora. It was a CG trailer giving us a look at the world from the eyes of the Na'vi as well as the humans coming in 2022 to PlayStation 5, Xbox X|S, Google Stadia and PC.