E3 2017 | Ubisoft Press Conference Predictions and Expectations

When it comes to Ubisoft, they have a ton of great games coming in the next year including Assassin's Creed Origins, Far Cry 5 and The Crew 2. However, the same can't be said for surprises for their conference this year. Earlier in May, the announcement of their fiscal year earnings call revealed details about a new Assassin’s Creed game, Far Cry 5, The Crew 2, and South Park: The Fractured But Whole releasing within FY18 (fiscal year March 2017- March 2018). Following this came official reveals of Far Cry 5 on social media releasing February 27th 2018, Assassin's Creed Origins debuting at Xbox's E3 press conference (after what felt like an eternity of leaks going unaddressed by Ubisoft) with an October 27th release date, and South Park: The Fractured But Whole getting a release date of October 17th. So what exactly can we expect from Ubisoft's press conference with everything already confirmed? Not much I reckon, but as always I hope to be proven wrong.

More of what we know

Far Cry 5 is definitely one of the first big games of 2018, and Ubisoft will definitely prove to people why. Expect a gameplay demo debut on stage showing off the Far Cry gameplay we've all come to love and expect, with hopefully a showcase of all the new elements being added into the modern Far Cry games like the controlling animals aspect making its way over from last years Far Cry Primal. With Assassin's Creed Origin's being revealed over at Microsoft's E3 press conference, both with a trailer and a 5+ minute gameplay demo, theres not much to really expect from Ubi's conference in terms of Assassin's Creed, with the possibility of another demo being shown off by devs that showcase the new RPG elements the series is adopting and tomb raiding inside of pyramids. South Park: The Fractured But Whole will most likely also make an appearance, with South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone demoing it on stage. Just Dance 2018 will definitely be revealed at the conference, with another typical on-stage demo with dancers showing off a new track from the game. New content for Rainbow Six Siege, The Division, For Honor and Ghost Recon Wildlands will also be revealed and talked about on stage.

Calling All Crew Members

The Crew 2 is one of the last four games confirmed for a FY18 release that hasn't had a pre-E3 reveal nor many major leaks relating to the game which is super surprising. Because of this it's hard to tell what to expect from The Crew 2, whether on not it may be taking place in an entirely different continent or if it will still be set in the United States and focus on a new story with more vehicles. The one leak we have had about The Crew 2 is the possibility that cars may not be the only thing we drive in the game, with boats and planes also being able to be driven (or in this case, flown). In terms of what I expect the release date will be, it will most likely be the first week of December this year, with the original The Crew releasing on December 2nd in 2014 and it's expansions releasing towards the end of November for the past two years. The Crew 2 has some tough competition this year, with Need for Speed Payback releasing on November 10th, it would be wise to distance itself from it but also show to the fans and everyone as a whole what's new compared to the first game and what classifies this as a sequel to The Crew and not just another possible DLC expansion.

The Worst Kind of Fan-Fiction Imaginable

Yes, this is no joke according to the countless amount of times this game has been leaked and the above art seems to prove it... there will be a Mario crossover game with the Rabbids that originally originated from the old Rayman spin-off, Rayman Raving Rabbids, called Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle. This will for sure be finally revealed at either Ubisoft's or Nintendo's conference as an upcoming title for Nintendo's latest console, the Nintendo Switch. Not much can really be said about the title right now other than, well, it's not something I was expecting but a cool thing for fans of Mario and Rabbids. To put a release date on it, my guess would be it releases either this year in October or in January 2018, away from the release of the new Super Mario Odyssey game coming out for the Switch this fall. 

Surprise Announcements

It's been almost four years since we last saw the stealth adventures of Sam Fisher. With heavy rumors of Splinter Cell making a next generation return (well, current gen actually) for awhile now, a trademark for Splinter Cell was recently published in May pointing to a possible follow up to 2013's Splinter Cell: Blacklist being revealed at Ubisoft's press conference for PS4, Xbox One and PC. Ubisoft has a habit of always saving a game for the end of their conference that usually debuts in the next fiscal year, for the past few years has been several Tom Clancy's games such as Rainbow Six Siege, The Division and Ghost Recon Wildlands, so if the trend is to be continued, a new Splinter Cell definitely is a possibility. Rayman has also missing for the past fours, with several mobile releases and current gen versions of Rayman Legends being remastered, with a remastered version for the Switch releasing this year. It's time for a new Rayman game, and with a ton of platformers being revived over the past year, Ubisoft would be stupid to not try and cash in on their 2D Rayman games that are so critically well-received. Not to mention it's been over three years since UbiArt have made a new console game, with their last two games being Child of Light and Valiant Hearts: The Great War in 2014.