All the big games, reveals, and trailers from Ubisoft Forward

If you’re the type who likes icon-saturated map games, then Ubisoft Forward — the French mega-publisher’s not-E3 event for 2023 — was basically a holiday. Monday’s showcase featured no shortage of the open-world games Ubisoft is known for, plus a handful of licensed games (appropriately Ubisoft-ified iterations of their respective franchises). From Assassin’s Creed Mirage to Star Wars Outlaws, here are all the the big announcements and reveals out of Ubisoft Forward.

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora

Ubisoft Forward opened with two trailers for Avatars: Frontiers of Pandora, the video game spinoff of James Cameron’s bazillion-dollar sci-fi film franchise, which looks a whole lot like Far Cry: Pandora Edition in a gameplay rundown. Cameron said a few words as well, saying he always wanted to “embrace technology to find new ways outside the cinema to immerse people in this world.” Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora comes out Dec. 7 for PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X.

xDefiant

xDefiant, a free-to-play multiplayer shooter that’s best described as “Tom Clancy’s Smash Bros.,” will have an open session from June 21 to 23 on PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X/S. The full game will release at an unspecified date later this summer. xDefiant features a heavy live service component, with Ubisoft promising one new map per month.

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown

Prince of Persia returns as a side-scroller with Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. Ubisoft briefly highlighted gameplay during Thursday’s Summer Game Fest, but aired a more extensive clip during Ubisoft Forward, showing off the combat and time-altering mechanics of this “semi-open world” platformer. The Lost Crown is out Jan. 18, 2024, for Amazon Luna, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

The Division Resurgence

Set a trailer to Bloc Party and you can make literally anything look cool, including The Division Resurgence, a free-to-play mobile spinoff of Ubisoft’s apocalypse shooter franchise. It’s out fall 2023.

Skull & Bones

Ubisoft’s turbulent Skull & Bones has been delayed (a bunch), and if you were expecting a release date out of Ubisoft Forward, sorry! The pirate game will, however, get a closed beta from Aug. 25-28 — news that Ubisoft announced alongside, um, a sea shanty from Home Free. And they said E3 was dead!

The Crew Motorfest

The Crew Motorfest, the third entry in Ubisoft’s racing series (and the first one since 2018’s The Crew 2), is set in Hawaii. Vibes-wise, it seems more Forza Horizon than Forza Motorsport, with a playful tone and an open-world. The Crew Motorfest comes out Sept. 14, but will have a closed beta from July 21 to 23.

Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR

Assassin’s Creed is getting uncannily close to its source material with Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR, which lets you wear advanced technology and experience the histories of people from a bazillion years ago. Nexus VR is coming to Meta Quest 2 and will star franchise protagonists Ezio (Assassin’s Creed 2), Kassandra (Assassin’s Creed Odyssey), and Connor (Assassin’s Creed 3).

Assassin’s Creed Mirage

Ubisoft finally unveiled gameplay for Assassin’s Creed Mirage, billed as a return to form for the franchise — in other words, more parkour and stealth, less micromanaging RPG stats and comically large open worlds. Starring Shohreh Aghdashloo (The Expanse, Mass Effect) and Lee Majdoub (Sonic the Hedgehog), Assassin’s Creed Mirage is a prequel to Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, filling in the story of Basim Ibn Ishaq who also appeared in that game. Assassin’s Creed Mirage is out Oct. 12 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.

Star Wars Outlaws

Star Wars Outlaws is the Star Wars game Ubisoft first announced in 2021. Though it was initially unveiled during Sunday’s Xbox Showcase, that trailer was entirely cinematic. Ubisoft Forward, meanwhile, showed some actual gameplay for the third-person shooter. Protagonist Kay Vess sneaks around a facility before getting spotted, at which point a shootout breaks out. Kay can also direct Nix — Outlaws’ requisite Cute Star Wars Creature — to distract enemies and interact with the environment. Monday’s footage featured chase sequences, dogfights, and precisely zero lightsabers (we’ve had enough of that, frankly). Star Wars Outlaws is planned for 2024.