Summary
Ubisoft has announced a delay for its upcomingRainbow Sixgame, but the response from players suggests this may be a good thing.Rainbow Sixhas been a popular IP under Ubisoft’s “Tom Clancy” banner since the first game in the series launched in 1998. Since then, the series has spawned 15 titles, including itslive service title,Rainbow Six Siege, which held a large number of returning players since its 2015 launch but was recently the source of controversy when Ubisoft announced a paid membership subscription for the game.
InUbisoft’s first-quarter earnings report for 2024, the studio revealed the changes to the release dates for its free-to-play mobile titles,Rainbow Six MobileandThe Division Resurgence. WhileThe Division Resurgencehad a vague 2024 release window,Rainbow Six Mobilewas initially expected to launch in September 2024. However,both titles will now reportedly be released sometime after July 12, 2025.
Rainbow Six Mobileis a 5v5 competitive FPS, whileThe Division Resurgenceis a third-person, open-world shooter RPG.
Both titles were announced back in 2022, and have hosted closed betas, showing they were quite far into development. However, the reasoning behind these days is to provide their development teams with the “necessary time to ensure that these experiences deliver on expectations with optimized KPIs in the context of a demanding yet very large market.”
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Fan Sentiment Suggests Ubisoft’s Better Off Focusing On Projects Elsewhere
Some AAA-Type Mobile Games Haven’t Been As Successful As Some Studios Hoped In Recent Years
WhenGame File’sStephen Totilotook to X to share the news, it was hardly met with sorrow. Some of the comments on his post hoped the games would fail so resources wouldn’t get “wasted” on mobile any further, with another stating that they would have much preferred the recently canceledTheDivision: HeartlandoverThe Division: Resurgence.
Ubisoft’s recent foray into mobile ports hasn’t been as successful either, with reports thattheiPhone and iPad portof last year’sAssassin’s Creed: Miragehas had low sales.This isn’t just the case with Ubisoft titles either, as the platforms' versions ofDeath Stranding,Resident Evil 4 Remake, andResident Evil Villagehave all severely underperformed despite the newer devices' M1 chip’s gaming capabilities being a selling point (viaGame Rant). Instead, more indie titles have seen success, suggesting that those who want to play larger AAA titles would rather do so on consoles or PC.
If so, it might actually be wiser for Ubisoft to focus on developing its AAA titles for these platforms rather than mobile. The studio reported a “solid start” to the current financial year with net bookings “above target” following disappointing results last year, and credited much of this to the launch of its free-to-play shooterXDefiant, which saw 10 million active players within its first two weeks of release. With these kinds of statistics, maybe it is for the best thatRainbow Six MobileandThe Division Resurgenceare delayed for now.
