There's light at the end of the not-E3 Summer Games Fest 2023 conference tunnel, but still enough time for Uncle Yves to uncork his content pipe and provide us with an update on everything Ubisoft.
It's a Ubisoft show, so there'll be some Assassin's Creed. We're looking forward to seeing more of the upcoming back-to-basics Mirage, and potentially some of VR game Nexus and Ancient China-set mobile entry Jade. Then there's likely to be Forza Horizon-like The Crew Motorfest, plus the latest release date for Skull and Bones.
Will we still get one last thing? Should we dare to dream of Beyond Good & Evil 2? Maybe not this year, but the above seems enough to tune in. Join me from 6pm UK time or 7pm CEST / 1pm EDT / 10am PDT.
Our live coverage of this event has finished.
Hello! Tom here kicking things off today, as regular livetext boss Bertie is currently on holiday, off pretending to be a Witcher or something as we speak.
¨C Tom Phillips
I kid you not, Bertie is actually at the Game of Thrones studio tour, which is one of the most Bertie things I've ever heard.
¨C Tom Phillips
Anyway! We'll be back just before 6pm to chatter away with you through Ubisoft Forward and whatever it may bring. I thought Star Wars Outlaws looked rather good, though I'm keen to see gameplay.
¨C Tom Phillips
Hello again! Let's do a Ubisoft, shall we? It's normal in these parts to share what I'm drinking, though after a weekend of conferences and coverages I feel slightly drunk while sober. Still, here's hoping you have something nice in hand.
¨C Tom Phillips
Rewsan says: Is there an estimated length for this?
My senses tell me it's going to be slightly over an hour.
¨C Tom Phillips
londonyank says: Just here for the Zelda + Rabbids kart racer surprise announce.
And when Link Rabbid goes to scream, no voice comes out...
¨C Tom Phillips
There's an audience at a venue in LA, but tonight we're not back to the Ubisoft E3 press conferences of old, held at a fancy theatre in Downtown.
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One year they had Michael Fassbender's Assassin's Creed movie costume on show in the lobby. True story.
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It's Just Dance! On a smaller stage!
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We're off, with a reminder that the Olympics Esports thing is happening and Just Dance is officially recognised as a category.
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the_sas_man says: It can only go uphill from here right?
And to the skies! It's that Avatar game which Ubisoft Massive has been making for donkey's years.
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The more I see of this, the less I'm sure of it. But I also don't get the lure of the films which keep printing money, so who knows.
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It's Assassin's Creed parkour but with vines!
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There's some cool verticality to all this! The flying looked a bit Anthem, which was the only good bit of Anthem.
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Avatar is out December 7th!
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That is a new date, though we knew it was set for the coming nine months or so.
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Maybe someone will mistake it for the DVD at Christmas.
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The world looks great, I have to say. Can I just walk around and poke the flowers?
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Nope, I have to walk around factories too. Of course!
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John says: Damn this is a sick Far Cry skin
It seems like it, doesn't it? It's a very pretty skin though.
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Ah, XDefiant. A million people played the closed beta, including some streamers.
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Ah yes, the thing that always stops people talking about Ubisoft games, the NDA.
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XDefiant has had lots of tests and will have one more, an open beta server stress test on 21-23rd June. This is your chance!
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XDefiant will get a full launch later this summer, and lots of content after. Phew.
¨C Tom Phillips
Right, onto Prince of Persia: Shattered Crown, which got a mixed reaction at the Geoffs last week.
¨C Tom Phillips
These story details were first announced last week, but again, you're not the Prince himself. Instead, you're on a mission to save him.
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I wish this Metroidvania-y stuff was shown in the trailers.
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I wish they'd stop cutting to that chap's head. The gameplay looks great!
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Ubisoft, sort your cinematic trailers out. That looked miles better in action.
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It's Adi Shankar!
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It's Yves Guillemot!
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Adi Shankar, I think you should just show Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix and save us all some time.
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So it's a wacky Ubisoft anime power hour. I'm into that.
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But thank god that's over.
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That was a fancy cinematic trailer for The Division Resurgence, the free-to-play mobile game which looks a lot less fancy when you show actual gameplay.
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It's out later this year.
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From Bloc Party to pirate rock. Ubisoft, this is a treat for the ears, at least.
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Weebleman says: This is ticking everything in the E3 playbook and I love it
E3's back!
(It's not.)
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Of course there's not a release date! But there is a closed beta on 25th - 28th August.
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Montage time! Roller Champions is getting a Jet Set Radio crossover. Halo is coming to Brawlhammer. Mario + Rabbids 2 is geting more DLC! Rollerskating is coming to Riders Republic!
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We knew Rayman was coming to Mario + Rabbids 2, but there he is.
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It's been five years since The Crew 2! Somehow that makes me feel very old.
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Sorry, where is it set?
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It's set in Hawaii.
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Vordus says: Forza Hawaiizon.
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Your vehicle collection will move over to The Crew Motorfest, which is nice.
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I don't think Forza Horizon has to worry about this, but I also think there's a decent audience out there on PlayStation who might well give it ago.
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Okay, it's time for some first-person VR Assassin's Creed!
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This is Assassin's Creed Nexus, and this is our confirmation of that leak - that this game will feature three fan-favourite protagonists.
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Ezio, Kassandra and Connor.
(Look, some people really like Connor.)
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If you think about it, experiencing this with your head stuck in a machine is a good analogy for being stuck in an Animus.
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For smartphones, the upcoming free-to-play Assassin's Creed Codename: Jade, AKA the Ancient China one we all wish was actually on console.
¨C Tom Phillips
For consoles and PC, it's Assassin's Creed Mirage.
¨C Tom Phillips
I'm very much up for a palette cleanser 15-hour Assassin's Creed city-set game, and this looks lovely I have to say.
¨C Tom Phillips
Sort of intrigued how much they'll go into Basim's spoilery backstory as seen in Valhalla - to which this is a prequel. I expect not very much.
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It's like an Animus software update has upgraded my memories of AC1.
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Shohreh Aghdashloo is amazing.
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This is a nice compromise with the eagle drone - you now need to clear some of the guards yourself to make the skies safe for it to help you identify the rest of the enemies.
¨C Tom Phillips
The cinematic camera is very extra and I love it.
¨C Tom Phillips
Cheers for Uncle Yves.
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A big thank you to players and to all teams around the world. Even the one which went on strike!
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We've just hit the hour mark, so looks like we'll be ending on Star Wars Outlaws gameplay.
¨C Tom Phillips
Ubisoft did make two new game announcements over the past week already, so it seemed unlikely we'd get anything else brand new.
¨C Tom Phillips
You play as Kay, who has a bounty on her head, as well as a fuzzy creature named Nix.
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That's the line from that film!
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10 studios are working on this game, though I don't think that quite hits Ubisoft's record.
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You can command your animal pal Nix to go and push buttons, or (it looked like) act as a diversion.
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themightyant says: At least she shot first
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Dank farrik!
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Here's the Ubisoft open world!
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Of course the Empire has a British accent.
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Wanted system: check.
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It may have hidden loading in the clouds, but flying to space from the planet's surface is how to do it.
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Looks great, also wondering how scripted that was in reality.
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Next year for Beyond Good and Evil 2 then, maybe!
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I thought Star Wars showed real promise, and Mirage looked great (though I would say that).
¨C Tom Phillips
Weebleman says: All in on the shanty
Probably the best bit.
¨C Tom Phillips
Thanks for joining us everyone, it's been a blast. I'll leave it there for now!