Ubisoft will be taking their time in developing their core titles, which include the third game of the Watch Dogs franchise. With no specific release date announced, Watch Dogs Legion could stay in development for up to one year after its intended release.
Watch Dogs Legion, which was originally slated for release by March 6, 2020, will be released any time from April 2020 to March 2021. Ubisoft first revealed the game during their E3 2019 conference.
The game footage they teased showed significant improvements for the series, even promising that you could take control of any of the friendly NPCs in-game. This new mechanic inspires the game's title, Legion.
Watch Dogs Legion is set in a fictionalized post-Brexit London, overrun by anarchists and whose law enforcement is taken over by a private police force. DedSec returns in this game as the titular Legion. In the game, their London cell is referred to as the "resistance", which combats the private security firm Albion.
The game is being developed by Ubisoft Toronto.
Delayed for Perfection
Along with the new Watch Dogs game, release dates for two other titles have also been delayed. The next game in the Tom Clancy series, Rainbow Six Quarantine, which has been pushed back to a later date. Meanwhile, a new IP called "Gods and Monsters" has been delayed as well, way past its original February 25, 2020 release date.
Ubisoft CEO and co-founder Yves Guillemot cited the disappointing performance of Rainbow Six Breakpoint, the most recent game released under the Rainbow Six name. "For Ghost Recon Breakpoint," Guillemot stated, "critical reception and sales during the game's first weeks were very disappointing."
Guillemot pointed out that although their games are innovative in terms of gameplay, these changes to the game experience have not been positively welcomed by players. He says that for these innovations to work, the new mechanics should be perfectly implemented and provide an optimal experience.
With this in mind, Ubisoft decided to give the developers of their three AAA-titles more time. "While each of these games already has a strong identity and high potential," says Guillemot, "we want... to ensure that their respective innovations are perfectly implemented so as to deliver the optimal gaming experience for players."
Costs of Delays
These changes will, of course, have financial repercussions. As such, Ubisoft lowered its financial targets for the fiscal year 2019-2020, which runs from April 2019 to March 2020.
Previously, its non-IFRS operating income was pegged to be around €480 million, with net bookings of €2.185 billion. This has been rescaled to €1.45 billion in net bookings and up to €50 million in non-IFRS operating income.
Of course, this also means that the financial projections for 2020-2021 would increase, as Ubisoft will now have five AAA-titles set to release during that period. However, no projections have been released so far for this fiscal period.
Aside from the three already mentioned, Ubisoft also has Tom Clancy's Elite Squad, Beyond Good and Evil 2, Skull & Bones, The Settlers reboot, and Roller Champions lined up in its release calendar.
