Decline meh Ubisoft (Ubi fuckery general thread)

[Neuromancer]

Some of these presentation topics are pure

GDC 2023: Ubisoft’s Complete Schedule​

March 20, 2023 at 5:00 PM

The annual Game Developers Conference (GDC) is back at the Moscone Center in San Francisco from March 20-24. This year, Ubisoft is joining in-person by taking part in 15 summits, workshops, and presentations during GDC, sharing insights and expertise on such topics as animation technology, open-world game narratives, energy-emission reduction, reinforcement learning, and more. Here's the full schedule of Ubisoft events at GDC 2023:
Monday, March 20 | 9:30 AM - 10:30 AM PT

ACCESSIBILITY BY DESIGN: FINDING OUR WAY ON THE PATH LESS TRAVELED
Summit speakers: Aderyn Thompson (Ubisoft Diversity, Inclusion & Accessibility)
Monday, March 20 | 10:30 AM - 6:30 PM PT

CLIMATE CRISIS WORKSHOP: USE YOUR GAME DEVELOPER SUPERPOWERS TO FIGHT CLIMATE CRISIS
Workshop Speaker: Arnaud Fayolle (Positive Play)
Tuesday, March 21 | 9:30 AM - 10:30 AM PT

AAA-TYPICAL: CHARACTER AND STORY ARCS IN OPEN GAMEPLAY STRUCTURES
Summit Speakers: Brendan Hennessy (Ubisoft Toronto), Heli Kennedy (Ubisoft Toronto)
Tuesday, March 21 | 10:50 AM - 11:50 AM PT

NATURAL LANGUAGE GENERATION FOR GAMES WRITING
Summit Speakers: Ben Swanson (Ubisoft La Forge)
Tuesday, March 21 | 2:40 PM - 3:40 PM PT

BUILDING A DCC AND PROJECT AGNOSTIC ANIMATION PIPELINE
Summit Speaker: Frieder Erdmann (Ubisoft Massive)
Wednesday, March 22 | 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM PT

HOW XBOX, 343I, EPIC, AND UBISOFT ARE REDUCING ENERGY & EMISSIONS WHILE MAINTAINING GAMEPLAY FIDELITY
Session Speaker: Iris Gardet (Ubisoft HQ - CSR)
Wednesday, March 22 | 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM PT

ENGINE OPTIMIZATION POWERED BY BIG DATA
Session Speakers: Vladimir Katchadourian (Ubisoft Paris), Vincent Leclercq (Ubisoft Paris)
Wednesday, March 22 | 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM PT

MAKING WAVES FOR 'SKULL AND BONES': ADVANCEMENTS IN WATER TECH
Session Speakers: Kris Kirkpatrick (Ubisoft Singapore)
Wednesday, March 22 | 3:30 PM - 4:30 PM PT

MULTI-AGENT REINFORCEMENT LEARNING WITH 'ROLLER CHAMPIONS'
Session Speaker: Eva Raggini (Ubisoft La Forge)
Wednesday, March 22 | 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM PT

UNLOCKING THE POWER OF NEURODIVERSITY IN GAME DEVELOPMENT
Session Speakers: Pierre Escaich (Ubisoft Massive), Aris Bricker (Red Storm)
Thursday, March 23 | 2:00 PM - 2:30 PM PT

VoRACE: TOOLS FOR AUTOMATING DIALOGUE PROCESSING
Session Speakers: Jean-Philippe Letendre (Ubisoft La Forge)
Thursday, March 23 | 2:00 PM - 2:30 PM PT

AN UNCHARTED SEA: DEVELOPING THE ART DIRECTION FOR 'SKULL AND BONES'
Session Speaker: Andie Sulistio (Ubisoft Singapore)
Thursday, March 23 | 3:00 PM - 3:30 PM PT

ALL HANDS ON DECK: BUILDING THE SHIPS OF SKULL AND BONES
Session Speaker: Jewell Koh (Ubisoft Singapore)
Thursday, March 23 | 4:00 PM - 4:30 PM PT

HOW JUST DANCE 2023 EDITION USED UI TOOLKIT TO CREATE A MODERNIZED UI SESSION SPEAKER
Session Speaker: Thomas Fontaine (Ubisoft Montreal), Francesca Scelfo (Ubisoft Montreal)
Friday, March 24 | 11:30 AM - 12:00 PM PT

BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS: HOW GREAT MENTORS BECOME EVEN GREATER LEADERS
Session Speaker: Andy Schmoll (Ubisoft Toronto)
Friday, March 24 | 11:30 AM - 12:00 PM PT

CLIMATE GAMES: THE DEVELOPER'S FIELD GUIDE
Session Speaker: Arnaud Fayolle (Positive Play)
Friday, March 24 | 1:30 PM - 2:30 PM PT

LAYERED BATTLES: GENERATING MULTIPLE QUALITATIVE TACTICAL BATTLES FOR 'MARIO + RABBIDS: SPARKS OF HOPE'
Session Speaker: Frédéric Giraud (Ubisoft Paris)
Be sure to follow Ubisoft News for all GDC updates.
Next article

Burgers?

 

[Neuromancer]

What does Ubisoft even have to sell besides their unwieldly mega ips (AssCreed, Far Cry, Watch Dogs, and ability to stick the late Tom Clancy's name on things he had absolutely nothing to do with)? All I can think of is Rayman, Beyond Good and Evil, Might & Magic, and distribution rights to the 3D Prince of Persia games (the IP is still creator owned, and this kind of thing may not be transferable anyways). All a lookup adds is Track Mania, Trials, Myst (!), and The Settlers. Might & Magic and Rayman are only thing that anyone would actually make something new with instead of just collect checks of digital distribution of back catalog.

Do they still own the rights to Myst?
I thought, that Cyan managed to get them back.

 

[deuxhero]

Neuromancer
That's entirely plausible.

 

[ind33d]

What does Ubisoft even have to sell besides their unwieldly mega ips (AssCreed, Far Cry, Watch Dogs, and ability to stick the late Tom Clancy's name on things he had absolutely nothing to do with)? All I can think of is Rayman, Beyond Good and Evil, Might & Magic, and distribution rights to the 3D Prince of Persia games (the IP is still creator owned, and this kind of thing may not be transferable anyways). All a lookup adds is Track Mania, Trials, Myst (!), and The Settlers. Might & Magic and Rayman are only thing that anyone would actually make something new with instead of just collect checks of digital distribution of back catalog.

Do they still own the rights to Myst?
I thought, that Cyan managed to get them back.

Watch_Dogs Legion was apparently supposed to be a full roguelike with a recruitment system and permadeath, but the execs had Ubi cut the RPG elements. I don't think Ubisoft is actually a bad developer, the leadership is just braindead

 

[Dexter]

https://ml-eu.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/154fdc90-dbcf-43d5-8ba9-f17de90cea49
https://www.reuters.com/technology/...oss-year-march-sticks-fy-guidance-2023-05-16/

Ubisoft posts record operating loss in year to March but sticks to FY guidance​

By Enrico Sciacovelli and Victor Goury-Laffont

Le logo Ubisoft près du siège du groupe, à Saint-Mandé. /Photo prise le 8 septembre 2022/REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier

May 16 (Reuters) - French video game producer Ubisoft (UBIP.PA) posted the biggest operating loss in company's history on Tuesday but stuck to its guidance for the current financial year, citing a renewed focus on blockbuster titles.

The maker of the hit "Rainbow Six" franchise posted a full-year non-IFRS operating loss of 500.2 million euros ($550.6 million), in line with a target announced in its January profit warning.

The family-run firm has been dogged by game cancellations and delays in recent years, booking a writedown estimate of around 500 million euros in 2022 due to research and development expenses.

"As part of our progressive reallocation of resources, we notably plan to increase the number of talents working on the Assassin’s Creed brand by 40% over the coming years," co-founder and CEO Yves Guillemot said in a statement.

Ubisoft said its total headcount had dropped below 20,000 employees as of Tuesday from 20,700 at the end of September, following the announcement of a 200 million euro cost-cutting plan in its profit warning in January.

80% of the headcount drop is the result of voluntary departures, Chief Financial Officer Frederick Duguet said in a media call.

The group restated its plans to integrate generative artificial intelligence (AI) in game development, after it announced in March "Ghostwriter", an in-house AI tool designed to write first drafts of non-playable character dialogue.

The Paris-listed publisher confirmed its estimate for a full-year core profit of around 400 million euros, while forecasting first-quarter net bookings of around 240 million euros.

Ubisoft's 2023-24 line-up will include Assassin's Creed Mirage, a new entry in the company's flagship franchise, and the long-delayed Skull & Bones and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora. The firm did not give a specific timeline for their release.

 

[Oracscube]

11 Assassin's Creed Games In the Works at Ubisoft​

Including a remake of the hugely popular Assassin’s Creed Black Flag

Here's the list including some we already knew about

Assassin’s Creed Mirage [Single-player] (production) – October 12, 2023
Assassin’s Creed Nexus [VR] (production) – 2023
Assassin’s Creed Codename Jade [Mobile] (production) – Expected 2023
Assassin’s Creed Codename Red [Single-player] (production) – Sources Suggest 2024
Assassin’s Creed Codename Hexe [Single-player] (pre-production) – Expected 2025/2026
Assassin’s Creed Codename Invictus [Multiplayer] (pre-production) – Expected 2025/2026
Assassin’s Creed Codename Nebula [Single-player] (concept/prototype) – Unknown
Assassin’s Creed Codename Raid [Multiplayer] (concept/prototype) – Unknown
Assassin’s Creed Codename Echoes [Multiplayer] (concept/prototype) – Unknown
Assassin’s Creed Nexus 2 [VR] (being discussed internally) – Unknown
Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Remake [Single-player] (just greenlit) – Unknown

Ubisoft Chengdu has pitched Project Raid – A free-to-play 4-player co-operative title that will be PvE. It’s believed that the title’s characters will all be from the Assassin’s Creed universe.

Ubisoft Annecy, known for developing the multiplayer portion of games like Assassin’s Creed and Splinter Cell, as well as co-developing The Division 2 with Massive Entertainment has pitched Project Echoes, which has been described as a multiplayer title that will use Ubisoft Scalar technology

 

[ind33d]

11 Assassin's Creed Games In the Works at Ubisoft​

Including a remake of the hugely popular Assassin’s Creed Black Flag

Here's the list including some we already knew about

Assassin’s Creed Mirage [Single-player] (production) – October 12, 2023
Assassin’s Creed Nexus [VR] (production) – 2023
Assassin’s Creed Codename Jade [Mobile] (production) – Expected 2023
Assassin’s Creed Codename Red [Single-player] (production) – Sources Suggest 2024
Assassin’s Creed Codename Hexe [Single-player] (pre-production) – Expected 2025/2026
Assassin’s Creed Codename Invictus [Multiplayer] (pre-production) – Expected 2025/2026
Assassin’s Creed Codename Nebula [Single-player] (concept/prototype) – Unknown
Assassin’s Creed Codename Raid [Multiplayer] (concept/prototype) – Unknown
Assassin’s Creed Codename Echoes [Multiplayer] (concept/prototype) – Unknown
Assassin’s Creed Nexus 2 [VR] (being discussed internally) – Unknown
Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Remake [Single-player] (just greenlit) – Unknown

Ubisoft Chengdu has pitched Project Raid – A free-to-play 4-player co-operative title that will be PvE. It’s believed that the title’s characters will all be from the Assassin’s Creed universe.

Ubisoft Annecy, known for developing the multiplayer portion of games like Assassin’s Creed and Splinter Cell, as well as co-developing The Division 2 with Massive Entertainment has pitched Project Echoes, which has been described as a multiplayer title that will use Ubisoft Scalar technology

why the FUCK would they remake Black Flag? who is saying "I would play Assassin's Creed IV, but the graphics are just holding me back"


EDIT: I think BlackRock just CTRL+Fs everything with the word "Black" in it and donates six million dollars

 

[Cat Headed Eagle]

They've been reworking all the previous games. They need something for current consoles.

 

[Oracscube]

It wouldn't surprise me if the nu-Black Flag wasn't finished surprisingly quickly, they have to get some use from those Skull and Bone assests

 

[Assisted Living Godzilla]

They’d be better off just making a Black Flag 2 and divorcing the whole thing from Assassins Creed. People don’t like Black Flag because of Assassin’s Creed, they like it despite it.

Ubisoft’s failure to capitalize on Black Flag in the ten years since its release is one of the odder things in gaming.

 

[deuxhero]

They did capitalize on Black Flag! That was what AssCreed Rogue was!

Really though, Skulls and Bones is such vaporware, I fully would find it fully plausible for Wargaming to announce "World of Warships Zero" (or some other name) first.

 

[PorkyThePaladin]

Ubisoft... Ubisoft never changes...

I completed Origins, which was ok for Ubisoft, interesting setting, pretty graphics, decent base combat, so the game was playable before it bored you with its inevitable plethora of Ubisoft soulless bullshit.

Then I completed Odyssey, which was even harder, because it had a lot more soulless bullshit.

Valhalla, I have but I cannot motivate myself to play, getting to the limits of my Ubisoftness. It's just same shit over and over again, zero soul, zero interesting unique shit.

 

[ind33d]

They’d be better off just making a Black Flag 2 and divorcing the whole thing from Assassins Creed. People don’t like Black Flag because of Assassin’s Creed, they like it despite it.

Ubisoft’s failure to capitalize on Black Flag in the ten years since its release is one of the odder things in gaming.

i agree, Black Flag should have been a separate franchise like Watch_Dogs in the Ubisoft Cinematic Universe

 

[lycanwarrior]

Ubisoft’s Strong Financials Point to a Promising Future​

https://gameishard.gg/news/ubisoft-...es-record-first-half-2023-24-bookings/490693/

Ubisoft’s financial performance for the first half of the 2023-2024 fiscal year has exceeded expectations, signaling a bright future for the renowned game developer. Despite a rocky start, Ubisoft reported robust earnings of €554.8 million ($584.07 million) in the second quarter, well surpassing initial projections of €350 million. In addition, net bookings for the first half reached €822.4 million, representing a substantial increase of 17.6% compared to the previous year.

The remarkable success can largely be attributed to the release of two highly anticipated games: Assassin’s Creed Mirage and The Crew Motorfest. Developed respectively by Ubisoft Bordeaux and Ivory Tower, both titles enjoyed a successful launch, with Mirage’s player numbers matching those of previous popular titles in the Assassin’s Creed franchise. Motorfest also achieved impressive milestones, setting records for units sold, player spending, and season pass adoption rate in its first week.

Furthermore, Ubisoft’s back catalog experienced a significant surge in net bookings, reaching a staggering 694.6 million, reflecting a notable increase of 37.4% from the first half of the previous fiscal year. Alongside the success of the new releases, Assassin’s Creed maintained its strong performance, benefiting from Mirage’s launch, while The Crew 2 witnessed record-breaking activity numbers in July. Undoubtedly, the second quarter of the fiscal year stands out as a record-breaking period for larger franchise activity.

Rainbow Six Siege emerged as the standout performer, boasting remarkable growth in net bookings. The game witnessed nearly a 50% increase in bookings during the first half of the 2023-2024 fiscal year compared to the previous year, highlighting its enduring popularity.

Beyond game performance, Ubisoft’s involvement in the Microsoft-Activision Blizzard merger promises to be a game-changer. With streaming rights to the latter developer’s portfolio secured for the next 15 years, Ubisoft anticipates playing a leading role in the cloud gaming market’s expansion. This strategic move aligns with the company’s goal of delivering more immersive experiences to a global player base.

Looking ahead, Ubisoft is poised for continued success as it prepares for future releases such as Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, Star Wars Outlaws, and potentially Skull & Bones. While a major game originally planned for Q4 has been deferred to maximize its value creation in the following fiscal year, Ubisoft’s positive momentum during the first half instills confidence for the remainder of the year and beyond.

 

[Space Satan]

It seems UbiSoft has started to implement...popup ads...in their games...right during gameplay

 

[Just Locus]

Ubisoft deserves bankruptcy, All they do is produce mindless slop that gets consumed and is what I'd call the first "Video game factory" essentially they exist to shit out products mindlessly.

They literally developed an A.I to write dialogue for them, You can't get more soulless than Ubisoft

 

[MadMaxHellfire]

and now they say it was an accident. "we coded ads into games totally by accident, like, one of our interns fell asleep on a keyboard and it resulted into ads into games". totally. fuck off and die already.

 

[Joggerino]

what I'd call the first "Video game factory"

That would be EA I think

 

[Just Locus]

EA is definitely up there for sure

 

[Axel_am]

It seems UbiSoft has started to implement...popup ads...in their games...right during gameplay

I see it. Yet my brain refuses to accept it as real. This is really bad.

 

[MadMaxHellfire]

no doubt ea started the trend, with yearly sports games like fifa and madden which were exactly the same (or worse), ubi just applied the mmorpg formula to everything they could put their dirty paws on.

 

[Gerrard]

I think it was EA that had real ads in-game in Battlefield 2142 or something.

They literally developed an A.I to write dialogue for them, You can't get more soulless than Ubisoft

I'd rather have dialogue written by AI trained on good data than by your average modern video game writer.

 

[SlamDunk]

https://80.lv/articles/ubisoft-blames-ads-in-assassin-s-creed-on-a-technical-glitch/

It was just a prank!

 

[Cat Headed Eagle]

Amateurs.

 

[MadMaxHellfire]

it's fun how that's called "product placement" while in italy it goes straight to "marchetta" which was the name of brothel's receipt. we love to use proper names.