A planned sequel to 2020 action-adventure Immortals Fenyx Rising has been scrapped by Ubisoft, reports suggest.
In the wake of reports that a sequel to Immortals Fenyx Rising has been cancelled, Ubisoft has issued a statement to IGN and VGC. It doesn’t mention the game by name, but rather talks about “reallocating” teams and resources.
Here it is:
“As part of our global strategy, we are redirecting and reallocating some creative teams and resources within the Quebec studio to other unannounced projects. The expertise and technologies these teams developed will serve as an accelerator for the development of these key projects focused on our biggest brands. We have nothing further to share at this time.”
Our original story follows…
Original story: A combination of Greek mythological storytelling and Zelda: Breath of the World-like open-worlding, Immortals Fenyx Rising was a modest success for Ubisoft in 2020. But according to anonymous sources who’ve spoken to VGC, a planned sequel – said to be in early development – has now been scrapped.
The Immortals follow-up was reportedly in the works at Ubisoft Quebec, the same studio that made both the original game and Assassin’s Creed Odyssey.
Ubisoft has had a financially turbulent time of late, with the publisher declaring a loss of $538 million in May this year. As a result, the publishing giant said it was initiating a “meaningful cost reduction plan” that included reducing the company’s work force. In April alone, Ubisoft announced 60 job cuts at its studios in Newcastle and South Carolina.
In light of its financial losses, Ubisoft is betting big on the Assassin’s Creed franchise, with around 2,800 staff reportedly working on various entries in the series. There are also rumours that there are no fewer than 11 Assassin’s Creed games in development, including Assassin’s Creed Mirage, out this October, and Assassin’s Creed Codename Jade, a China-set mobile title currently in a closed beta test phase. There are also reportedly a whole bunch of other projects in the works, going under dramatic working titles that sound like characters from 1990s TV series, Gladiators – Nebula, Invictus, Raid and the like.
With the company’s renewed focus on its epoch-hopping stealth-murder-action franchise, it’s a strong possibility that Ubisoft Quebec was asked to stop working on an Immortals sequel and get on with something more Assassin’s Creed shaped. VGC’s sources suggest that Fenyx Rising was only a modest success in any case, and that its sales were largely came once the game’s price was cut. Farewell, Immortals – we hardly knew thee.
