Splinter Cell VR and Ghost Recon Frontline cancelled
Alongside two unannounced games.
Following today's news that Ubisoft's Avatar: Frontiers of Pandorahas been delayed and will no longer release along James Cameron's Avatar sequel this December, the publisher has announced a number of other significant changes to its release roster, with Splinter Cell VR and Ghost Recon Frontline now officially cancelled alongside two previously unannounced games.
Ubisoft shared the news during its latest earnings call, only saying it had made the decision to cancel all four titles after taking into account the "more uncertain economic environment".
Ghost Recon Frontline, which received a less-than-stellar reception when it was announced last October, was to be a new free-to-play instalment in Ubisoft's long-running military shooter series. The core experience would have featured a large-scale, battle-royale-style 102-person mode where teams of three players completed objectives before calling for extraction, but other modes were also detailed.
Splinter Cell VR, meanwhile, was announced all the way back in September 2020 for release on Oculus (now Meta) devices. Details were extremely limited at the time, with Ubisoft only saying the game was being developed at its Red Storm studio in collaboration with Ubisoft Düsseldorf, Ubisoft Reflections, and Ubisoft Mumbai.
Splinter Cell VR's cancellation is perhaps not too surprising, given that we've barely heard a peep on the project since its reveal two years ago, but it's notable that Ubisoft made no mention of its Assassin's Creed VR game (which was announced for Oculus alongside Splinter Cell VR) as part of today's cancellation news, suggesting it's likely still in the works.
With Avatar now delayed and four games scrubbed from its roster, Ubisoft's upcoming release slate is looking a little thin. Switch-exclusive Mario and Rabbids Sparks of Hope arrives on 20th October, and long-in-the-works pirate game Skull and Bones launches on 8th November. More news on Ubisoft's smaller, stealth-focused Assassin's Creed game (which reportedly started life as a Valhalla expansion) is due to arrive this September.
Beyond that, things get a lot murkier. Ubisoft's troubled The Settlers reboot is still awaiting a release date after it was indefinitely delayed back in March following poor closed beta feedback, and the equally troubled Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake remains in release limbo after it too was delayed indefinitely following a switch to a new studio. Also awaiting release dates are free-to-play The Division spin-off Heartland, originally expected in 2021, and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora. And as for Ubisoft's Splinter Cell remake, Star Wars game, and perpetually MIA Beyond Good & Evil 2, those still appear to be some way off.