Ubisoft has canceled its upcoming free-to-play shooter, Tom Clancy’s The Division Heartland, amid bigger plans to focus sources on “greater alternatives.”
This information was revealed as part of Ubisoft’s earnings launch this morning, with the corporate saying it has “redeployed sources to greater alternatives equivalent to XDefiant and Rainbow Six.” The transfer is an element of a bigger, longer course of Ubisoft has been present process in current quarters to restructure its groups, minimize prices, and focus its sources into fewer, greater video games.
Ubisoft provided the next assertion on the cancellation:
After cautious consideration, now we have made the powerful name to halt improvement on Tom Clancy’s The Division Heartland, efficient instantly. Our precedence now could be to assist the gifted staff members at our Crimson Storm Leisure studio, who might be transitioning to new tasks inside our firm, together with XDefiant and Rainbow Six.
The Division Heartland was first introduced again in 2021, and was being developed by North Carolina-based Crimson Storm Leisure. It was quietly delayed not lengthy after its reveal with its deliberate launch shifting to final fiscal 12 months, nevertheless it by no means materialized. Heartland did undergo a number of testing phases, and was in a publicly playable state. Lately, it obtained a score in Taiwan, main followers to imagine its launch was imminent, however this appears to have been a false alarm.
Ubisoft has been on a game-cancelling spree of late, having shut down three unannounced video games together with its mysterious Challenge Q, in addition to Immortals Fenyx Rising 2 simply final 12 months. The prior 12 months, Ubisoft cancelled 4 different unannounced video games, with the corporate explaining its determination by saying it had been attempting to make too many video games directly.
And within the final 12 months particularly, Ubisoft (like many different main gaming corporations) has been present process main cost-cutting measures, which have included the aforementioned sport cancellations, studio closures, and a number of rounds of layoffs. As famous in Ubisoft’s earnings launch, it has diminished its worker numbers by over 1,700 folks over 18 months “whereas retention has continued to enhance.” As of March 2024, Ubisoft employs 19,011 workers globally.
In at the moment’s earnings name, CEO Yves Guillemot instructed traders the corporate was “again on observe” for a “worthwhile progress trajectory,” noting the corporate’s report annual and quarterly internet bookings reported at the moment. Going ahead, Guillemot continued, the corporate will pursue a technique of returning to management in open world journey video games whereas increasing its games-as-a-service choices. This 12 months, the corporate expects to launch Murderer’s Creed Shadows (simply totally revealed at the moment), Rainbow Six Cell, Star Wars Outlaws, The Division Resurgence, and XDefiant.
And technologically, Ubisoft is narrowing its focus by itself inside sport engines to simply two branches, Anvil and Snowdrop, and is aggressively pursuing generative AI tech particularly with its NEO NPC program.
For the complete 12 months, Ubisoft reported €2.3 billion ($2.5 billion) in internet bookings, and €401 million ($436 million) in working earnings.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Acquired a narrative tip? Ship it to rvalentine@ign.com.