Will Wildlands Release Date Be In 2016?
When Ubisoft announced Ghost Recon: Wildlands at last year’s E3, it looked as though gamers would have to wait years before getting their hands on the Tom Clancy title as publisher Ubisoft has in recent times delayed big titles like The Division and Watch Dogs. But with the game going up for pre-order, it seems like Wildlands release date could be a few short months from now.
Wildlands – which just got a new trailer – is now available for pre-order, suggesting a holiday 2016 release date is in the cards (games traditionally do not go up for pre-order until a few months before launch). With E3 only two weeks away, Ubisoft may surprise us with the announcement of a fall 2016 release date – bucking the trend of announcing games years in advance.
What’s even more interesting is the implications this has for the Watch Dogs 2 release date, which is scheduled to be released in Ubisoft’s 2016-2017 fiscal year ending in April of next year. Now while Assassin’s Creed Syndicate and Rainbow Six Siege launched within a matter of weeks at the tail end of 2015, the two games were not directly competing and in completely different genres. Ubisoft may not want to release two third-person action games in the same season, and doing so would leave only For Honor, South Park: The Fractured But Whole, and the untitled “new high-potential AAA brand” on the schedule for 2017. Given the pressure to be profitable in the industry, it seems possible that we may see Wildlands partnered with either South Park or For Honor this holiday, leaving Watch Dogs 2 as Ubisoft’s big title for early 2017. In any case, it will be interesting to see how the company fits Wildlands release date into the jigsaw puzzle for the rest of 2016 and going into 2017.
What do you think readers? Where will Ubisoft put their money this holiday season? Tell us on Twitter! As always, stay tuned to COG for news and impressions of all things Ubisoft as E3 approaches – we’re just as curious to see what happens as you are!