Another Ubisoft Game Just Got Delayed

Bad news for fans of Riders Republic. Ubisoft announced on Thursday that it would be delaying the MMO extreme sports game until later in 2021, according to a release from the dev team. The game was originally scheduled for release date of Feb. 25.

"In September, we gave you a first look at our massive multiplayer playground in Riders Republic. We promised an action-packed outdoor sports park, filled with all-out mass races with more than 50 fellow riders on next-gen consoles, a variety of diverse activities and insane stunts," the message reads. "We can't wait to have you traverse our vibrant world and live out your own rider's fantasy."

Here comes the "but..."

"Today, we want to let you know that we have made the decision to move our release to later this year. This additional time allows our passionate team to deliver the best fun fueled experience to our players."

News of the delay follows a trend at Ubisoft since 2019, when it announced a slew of games that it was delaying until 2020-21. A more specific release date has not been announced for Riders Republic. 

Fans reacted to the news on Twitter with disappointment but some cautious optimism. Most were generally supportive of the decision to delay the game, citing the failed release of the highly anticipated Cyberpunk 2077. Although Cyberpunk was delayed repeatedly, it was still filled with bugs, and many fans described the game as "unfinished," especially on older-gen consoles Xbox One and PlayStation 4. 

Riders Republic's September trailer showcased a massive, colorful, outdoor playground that combines virtual settings of seven U.S. national parks, such as Yosemite Valley, Sequoia Park, and Grand Teton, that players can explore via mountain bikes, skis, snowboards, and flyers. Players will be able to compete in races and trick competitions in player-versus-player modes and in six-on-six teams, as well as in large 50-player races with a funky social setting.

"Each region was recreated using GPS data and we then subtly modified each location to ensure we can develop the perfect action scenes for the different sports," Riders Republic's creative director Igor Manceau said in an interview. "We've chosen to represent these seven regions specifically because of their diversity in terrain, which reflects the variety in which our extreme sports can traverse on."

According to Ubisoft, developers began work on the game "3 years ago" at Ubisoft Annecy, the same team that developed the much-loved winter sports game Steep. "Leveraging our long-lasting experience for outdoor sports and multiplayer games, we wanted to shape an online open world that catered to racers looking to pull off the next crazy trick, or get the best time, while sharing their passion for extreme mountain sports with their friends," Ubisoft said of the game's creation.

Riders Republic will be released for Xbox, PlayStation, PC, and Stadia, and Uplay and boasts 60 frames per second for next-gen consoles.