Trusted insider Tom Henderson, in an article for the Insider Gaming portal, told about another unannounced game in development at the French publisher Ubisoft.
Image source: Electronic Arts
According to Henderson’s sources, Ubisoft has been working on a new battle royale for “at least a couple of years,” with Electronic Arts and Respawn Entertainment’s Apex Legends as its main inspiration.
Ubisoft’s new battle royale project is currently codenamed Scout and features fighters “very similar” to some of the characters from Apex Legends (including Pathfinder, Wraith, and Lifeline).
Lifeline from Apex Legends (Image source: Electronic Arts)
According to one of Henderson’s sources, Ubisoft is targeting the Apex Legends audience, which has seen a recent churn in players. EA acknowledges this, noting the need for a significant update like 2.0.
Whether Electronic Arts can breathe new life into Apex Legends remains to be seen, but at least Ubisoft’s management believes there’s room in the market for another heroic battle royale.
Hyper Scape (Image source: Ubisoft)
As Henderson notes, Scout’s development runs counter to Ubisoft’s internal research, which has cast doubt on the future of battle royale games, citing audience declines in games in the genre including Apex Legends.
This isn’t Ubisoft’s first attempt at success in the battle royale niche. Hyper Scape, which launched in 2020, closed after 18 months, and behind the scenes, the company has canceled about a dozen similar games for one reason or another.