In 2010, SpongeBob aired the episode “That Considering Feeling,” which planted the seed for the meme “Squidward appears out the window whereas SpongeBob and Patrick run round.” Sixteen years later, Ubisoft is making me really feel precisely that means.
This deviant French developer has earned some avenue cred by updating a number of traditional video games to run at 60 FPS on trendy consoles. They discovered time to revisit quite a few titles from Murderer’s Creed, Far Cry, Watch Canine, and The Division, to not point out a significant overhaul of Rainbow Six Siege.
It is a deal with for followers of those collection, however do not get me mistaken. However what did Ghost Recon do to be so uncared for? The neglect of considered one of Ubisoft’s oldest lively franchises is a symptom of the downward spiral the corporate is at the moment in.
Ghost Recon was Ubisoft’s experimental outlet
Regardless of not really being primarily based on a Tom Clancy novel, Ghost Recon is arguably the sport that comes closest to the Tom Clancy novel model. A deep political disaster is irrevocably intertwined with navy motion and extremely excessive stakes, with the destiny of the nation within the arms of a choose few particular forces operators.
One of many issues that set Ghost Recon other than different main Ubisoft collection was how a lot the corporate was prepared to reinvent the sport. The collection debuted in 2001 as a slow-burn tactical FPS that felt surreal on the time.
A couple of years later, Superior Warfighter got here from a totally unique approach, leaning as a substitute into an imaginary model of future warfare. In 2012, Future Soldier moved to a full third-person perspective and positioned extra emphasis on cowl mechanics.
The collection’ greatest hit after the unique launch was Ghost Recon Wildlands, the 2017 sport that turned Tom Clancy’s work into an all-encompassing open-world journey.
Wildlands is without doubt one of the biggest open-world video games ever made, with a vibrant ambiance and a plot that is not afraid to steal Clancy’s Clear and Current Hazard wherever it fits you.
You possibly can inform that Ubisoft has discovered a factor or two about felony organizations taking on complete nations over time with Far Cry, however regardless of the Grand Theft Auto mechanics, there’s nonetheless a tactical really feel frequent to all Ghost Recon video games.
Breakpoint (2019) was a step again when it comes to writing and mission, however nonetheless tried to innovate.
Ubisoft discovered a factor or two about felony organizations which have been taking on complete nations for years via Far Cry
So whereas Far Cry and Murderer’s Creed shortly settled into formulaic formulation throughout the first few video games, Ghost Recon all the time offered Ubisoft with an outlet for innovation.
Nevertheless, the corporate’s administration does not appear to assume so. There was a seven-year hole between the discharge of Ghost Recon and little promotion for the following sport.
The dearth of curiosity in platforming this nice collection means that Ubisoft is content material to remake the identical open-world journey sport somewhat than take a threat on a collection that has room for extra.
This strategy could present extra shareholder worth within the brief time period, however in some unspecified time in the future individuals will get bored with taking part in a reskinned Far Cry 3. Until extra efforts are made, Ubisoft will undoubtedly be left behind and administration will be taught the laborious means that “too large to fail” isn’t a actuality.
Ubisoft has a shot at reviving Ghost Recon
The dearth of publicity doesn’t suggest Ubisoft has fully deserted Ghost Recon. Whereas the little data that has come out lately appears promising, Ubisoft’s newest restructuring casts some doubt on its future.
The upcoming sport, codenamed “Undertaking Over,” returns to a first-person perspective and takes inspiration from extra genuine, sensible video games like VOID Interactive’s Prepared or Not. If it succeeds unscathed, it’s certain to be a success as gamers have by no means had an accessible sensible shooter.
The countermeasure is to reorganize Ubisoft into 5 inventive homes. Ghost Recon, together with Splinter Cell and The Division, falls beneath a gaggle that makes a speciality of “aggressive and cooperative shooter experiences.”
Is Ubisoft attempting to pressure a return to the Rainbow Six pipeline, the place slow-paced tactical video games remodel into bombastic aggressive shooters?A current episode of the Insider Gaming podcast steered that the Ghost Recon collection may very well be break up in two, with spin-off titles from totally different studios being developed.
Fragmenting the video games might work of their favor to keep away from diluting the extra grounded mainline expertise, nevertheless it might additionally simply result in each video games failing and the franchise falling right into a ditch. This assumes each video games really launch, however as we noticed with Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, that is by no means a given.
Time is ticking for Ubisoft to offer Ghost Recon its due recognition and return to its glory days, particularly as its rivals are struggling. Name of Responsibility is dealing with its worst disaster but, with Battlefield 6’s participant depend right down to 10% of its peak on launch day. If there’s any hope for Ghost Recon to make a comeback, that point is now.