Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot confirms two Far Cry projects and "several" Assassin's Creed games survived its mega reshuffle

Ubisoft's enormous restructuring - which saw it create five "creative houses," delay multiple projects, and throw six more in the trash - has led to a lot of understandable angst about what is and isn't being developed right now. The only project we officially know of that got scrapped is the Prince of Persia Sands of Time remake, which also showed just how cutthroat Ubisoft has been, given how it seemed like it was finally on a solid path to launch. Now, in a new interview, CEO Yves Guillemot has lifted the lid ever so slightly wider as to what Ubisoft is still working on following its reorganization.

"We have a solid pipeline underway across Vantage Studios," Guillemot tells Variety when asked about the Tencent-backed creative house that is now home to Ubisoft's biggest franchises. "Under the Assassin's Creed brand, several titles are in development, spanning both single-player and multiplayer experiences, with the ambition to further grow a community that exceeded 30 million players last year."

As for Far Cry, it would come as no surprise to hear that the inevitable Far Cry 7 had survived and was in development. However, Guillemot confirms that two "very promising" Far Cry projects are actually being worked on right now. This lines up with past reports that, alongside the mainline sequel, an extraction shooter-esque spinoff was also in the mix. However, the main source for these claims, Insider Gaming, says that this multiplayer Far Cry project has undergone several reworks and shifts during development, so the exact style of gameplay is still hard to call.

Guillemot also talks about his ambition to further grow some of its biggest series. "Open world adventure franchises like Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, Ghost Recon, The Division, and many others have incredible potential, and we want to reach new players, offer fresh experiences, and keep our communities engaged over time." Of course, I've already commented on Assassin's Creed and Far Cry, so no surprises there. We also know that The Division 3 is in development, so again, that's not a shock. It is interesting to hear Ghost Recon getting thrown into that mix, though. While Guillemot appeared to let slip in an investor call last year that a new Ghost Recon game was in the works, nothing has been officially announced about it, but it sounds like this project has also survived the cull if the Ubisoft boss sees it as a franchise he wants to grow.

As is expected, given it only recently acquired the game from Amazon, ambitious steampunk MOBA March of Giants is also still alive and well. "We are not yet a player in the multiplayer online battle arena space and entering that genre requires world-class expertise," Guillemot says. "This team brings deep competitive multiplayer experience and a performance-driven culture that aligns perfectly with ours."

While Ubisoft is heavily refocusing on its existing brands and becoming more risk-adverse, Guillemot says that totally original ideas are not completely off the table, and also confirms "several new IPs" are being worked on.

"Our Creative Houses are above all responsible for developing our established brands, and the potential is huge," he says. "The model also enables focused innovation for both existing brands and new IP. Teams concentrate on genres and experiences they know best, while still having the freedom to pitch unique ideas. Compelling concepts are evaluated and assigned to the right team for development. We already have several new IPs in progress and look forward to sharing more soon." March of Giants is presumably included in that, but that means at least a couple more are being worked on too.

In terms of the six games that did get cut, Guillemot sadly peddles the same line that was shared in Ubisoft's initial announcement of the cancelations. Alongside the Sands of Time remake, there were "four unannounced titles (including three new IPs), and a mobile title."