HyperScapewas just the beginning. Ubisoft is reportedly ready to get back into the battle royale genre.
According toa new reportby Insider Gaming’s Tom Henderson, Ubisoft is looking toApex Legendsfor inspiration on its next game. The new game, codenamed Scout, has “been in development for at least a couple of years and will feature ‘very similar’ characters toApexincluding a spin on Pathfinder, Wraith, Lifeline,” and others.
Ubisoft tried the ride the battle royale trend in 2020 withHyperScape, a futuristic FPS BR, but the game did not find much of an audience and was soon shut down. But withApex’splayer always in question, apparently the company thinks it can swoop in and pick up the scraps.
“I think the goal is to capitalize on the player count ofApexdropping and them [Ubisoft higher-ups] thinking there’s room in the market for another hero battle royale,” one of Henderson’s sources said.
Henderson has been a reliable reporter in the past, especially when it comes to Ubisoft titles. His reports onXDefiantspelled doom for the publisher’s attempts at capitalizing on the twitchyCall of Dutyshooter market, and it was announced not long after that the game would also be shutting down. In fact, Henderson said “Ubisoft has cancelled around a dozen battle royales for one reason or another in various stages of development” afterHyperScapewas shuttered.
I honestly don’t envy any publishers or developers in this current market for games. With players continuing to sink more and more time into older games likeFortnite,Warzone, and others, trying to find the next big thing seems to be mostly fruitless, outside of outliers such asMarvel Rivalsthat have come out and found immediate success.
A new BR can’t be too different from what makes the genre fun, but it also can’t be too similar, and it has to have a hook, and it has to have fair monetization while also being profitable. It’s a lofty goal, but it seems like Ubisoft hasn’t given up just yet.
