Tomorrow's Ghost Recon Frontline closed test has been indefinitely delayed
Following a less-than-stellar reception.
Ubisoft has announced a last-minute delay for Ghost Recon Frontline's planned closed test, which was originally due to get underway tomorrow, 14th October.
Frontline - a free-to-play, class-based spin on the long-running tactical shooter series - was unveiled last week during Ghost Recon's 20th Anniversary livestream, with the announcement focussing on Frontline's "flagship" Expedition mode, a "new take on the battle royale genre" for 102 players where teams of three complete objectives before calling for extraction.
Other modes, including the 9v9 points-based Control mode and an only vaguely alluded to "traditional arena shooter", were also briefly mentioned as being part of Ghost Recon Frontline's eventual launch line-up, but details on those were notably light.
Frontline - which will ultimately release for PC, PlayStation 4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Amazon Luna, and Google Stadia - is still early development according to Ubisoft, but a closed test was announced to begin tomorrow, 14th October. This has now been indefinitely postponed however, with no explanation given. All Ubisoft offered its in delay announcement was that "the development team is dedicated to creating the best experience possible", and that it would "share details on the new closed test as soon as [it] can".
Notably though, feedback from Ghost Recon fans was swift and far from stellar following Frontline's announcement last week, in large part thanks to Ubisoft's decision to focus on Expedition's battle-royale-like properties in its reveal. As VGC points out, Frontline's reveal trailer has 4,900 likes compared to 17,000 dislikes on YouTube, with many commenters maligning the direction of the series.
As such, it's entirely possible Ubisoft is delaying Frontline's closed test to bring some of the Ghost Recon series' more traditional elements front-and-center for its first playable airing in a bid to thaw that initially frosty reception.