Ubisoft has announced that in-game events in both Riders Republic and Skull & Bones will be used to highlight real-world environmental issues.
Beginning in late 2022, the first live event will take place in Riders Republic and deal with forest fires.
There will be no warning (to simulate the immediacy of forest fires), the sky will change to an ominous shade of orange, and players will need to team up in order to save endangered sequoia trees from the blaze.
Certain areas of the map will become inaccessible, and you will be able to pinpoint the location of each conflagration by the smoke on the horizon.
You can read our full thoughts on Riders Republic in our review.
Skull & Bones, meanwhile, will have an event focusing on the consequences of overfishing. While we don't have a firm release date for the long-in-development title, we should hear more soon, and it is rumoured to be released in November.
What do you think of Ubisoft's idea of adding live events to highlight these issues? Let us know in the comments section below.
[source playing4theplanet.org, via psu.com]
Comments 19
I haven't been following these titles, but that does pique my interest.
I usually watch the world issues freely from the news on tv or website, why the heck I want to pay $60 for it to delivered to me in the game lol. Unless the game is free to play, then it's okay since it's free.
Removed - inappropriate
Something different. Could be interesting.
What happens if all the players ignore it? Does the fire spread and cause the entire game map to become inaccessible for eternity? Haha.
Good for them – they do have some Karma balancing to do. And since environmental issues are now on the table, I'm certain we'll soon see them ditch NFTs. (Right?)
Find it so ironic when people hate on stuff like this and want real world issues out of their entertainment, but they also somehow love Metal Gear Solid, Halo and Star Wars, among many other politically and real world issue loaded works of entertainment.
Anyways, good for UBisoft to do something good. Now to hope the messages also reach their management and they drop their silly NFT agenda.
Why not, eh? Spreading awareness is good, and if you can do this and add extra entertainment too, then everybody wins.
However, as somone who stumped up the money for Riders Republic, I'd rather they fixed what they have. Theres no map filter so once you are end game, trying to find new events on the map became impossable, Ive spent so long endlessly pouring over the map trying to find the last few missing events, gave up in the end...
@MattyHammo @wiiware I think you're blowing this out of proportion. It's just an event/mini-game that happens in the game. It could've been anything, there could've been aliens trying to steal the trees, but they went with a fire because that's more realistic, something that actually happens.
Okay, riding through burning forest actually sounds fun.
The overfishing one though? At this point it just sounds like a forced lesson like when teachers try and make a boring subject fun at school.
I’ll need to see it before I judge.
@Kienda "I’ll need to see it before I judge."
That's not how the internet works, my friend!
Who knew Smokey the Bear wasn't going to be enough to stop people from preventing forest fires?
🖐
Eh, idk, seems kinda eye rolling to me. Like the corporation needs me to be more aware of these issues? Lol. Plus like others have said, I kinda play games to escape. Consider myself an empath and honestly there's only so much I can witness/read about/live before I just gotta turn my brain off to reality.
Excellent and fun way to highlight an important issue.
Is this to make up for their planet-destroying NFT's?
@wiiware As a adult you probably can get over a event that last a few days. And now if they stop NFT's then we know they mean what they are preaching.
Real world social and political issues don't have a place in a full priced videogame. Especially not when the game's main theme is not about any of these issues. (Overfishing pirates in the 1600's, really?)
This will open a door into more in-game advertisements disguised as "events".
No matter how good the intentions, it's still propaganda/advertising.
If this becomes a thing, we'll end up with the company/organisation that has the most money controlling the content and narrative that will show up in a game as events, billboards, cosmetics, free DLC or other sneaky ways.
The fact that they announce this for a game that hasn't even gotten a release date yet, seriously factors in my willingness to buy Skull & Bones.
If Ubisoft had sincere concerns about these topics, why don't they just donate a equal amount of money as that it will cost Ubisoft to hire a team to develop and implement this in these games, instead of forcing this on the players?
Riders Republic was way better than it had any right to be. This makes me want to dive back into it. Great idea and great cause!
Wow, my comment was removed for being inappropriate. I guess someone didn't like something I said, even though it wasn't aimed at anyone or any group. What a weird time we live in. I guess forest fires are a sensitive subject for some people.
@SpiralOut ffs. It's just in gane events. If you get so worked up over that and have to Uninstall the game you need to toughen up and grow a pair. Your a pansy and obviously can't handle anything. It'll be better if you never get on the internet or something might offend you mate
Show Comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...