After about a decade of supporting the platforms, Ubisoft has finally decided to stop developing games for Sony’s PlayStation 3 and Microsoft’s Xbox 360, instead focusing its efforts on newer consoles and PCs. The one exception is apparently for its rhythm game franchise, Just Dance. Ubisoft announced the move during a recent investor call.
“On Just Dance, we will continue to bring old-gen console versions,” Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot said during the call. “But on the other products like Assassin’s Creed, Rainbow Six, The Division, and the unannounced franchise, we will not have old-gen versions.”
Ubisoft signaled the transition last fall when it released two Assassin’s Creed games. Rogue came out for PS3 and Xbox 360, while the more ambitious (and problematic) Unity was released on PS4, Xbox One, and PC. Although Unity was long anticipated, Rogue’s revelation came as a surprise to many. This new announcement, however, makes clear that it was a transitional year, and not the new norm, so PS3 and Xbox 360 owners shouldn’t sit around hoping for another Rogue-like. Given Unity‘s notoriously glitchy launch, it makes sense that the developer would want to focus its effort on one entry in the franchise at a time instead of simultaneously developing two. The next Assassin’s Creed game, Syndicate, was just recently confirmed, and like Unity it will be released solely on PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
The company’s stance on Wii U is still unclear. Ubisoft’s support for Nintendo’s console has waned substantially over the last few years, citing the console’s poor sales in general and Ubisoft’s games’ poor sales on it in particular. Guillemot told Game Informer last year that Watch Dogs would be its last “mature” title for Wii U. Although the Wii U’s desolate sales have turned around somewhat in the last year with the release of tentpole titles such as Super Smash Bros. and Mario Kart, it is not clear that Ubisoft will develop any more games for the platform. Chances do not look good, given that Ubisoft has already admitted to sitting on a completed game for the console.
The Xbox 360 was first revealed ten years ago this week on a MTV special hosted by Elijah Wood (featuring appearances by Wilmer Valderrama and the Pimp My Ride crew — so very, very 2005). The PS3 was revealed that year as well at E3. A decade is a long and healthy life for a video game console — the last Super Nintendo game released in North America came out in 1998, a mere seven years after the console’s launch. Don’t fret if you haven’t upgraded to the newest consoles yet. Plenty of developers besides Ubisoft will continue to support it in the immediate future and there are extensive and excellent back catalogs of games for both the Xbox 360 and PS3 waiting for you to play.
