After two and a half years, the dev team working on updates for Ghost Recon Breakpoint is moving on. In a Twitter message, the team writes:
“The last four months marked the release of our final piece of content: the brand new Operation Motherland mode, tons of new items including 20th anniversary iconic outfits and Quartz items for Ghost Recon Breakpoint. We will continue to maintain our servers for both Ghost Recon Wildlands and Ghost Recon breakpoint and we truly hope you will continue to enjoy the game and have fun playing in solo or co-op with your friends.”
The message goes on to thank the Ghost Recon community for all their support and says the feedback given for Breakpoint “has been instrumental and will help shape the future of the franchise.”
Speaking of the franchise’s future, a new Kotaku report confirms the next Ghost Recon is being worked on. Right now, it’s going by a codename, Project OVER, which did show up in that Nvidia GeForce Now database leak last year.
Kotaku’s report is slim on gameplay details, but if the backlash from Breakpoint’s disappointing launch and the dev team’s attempt to win back the Ghost Recon community are any indication – they would be smart to lean into the tactical gameplay that made the franchise popular in the first place.
Despite being one of the biggest publishers out there, Ubisoft has been unable to crack into the hugely popular Battle Royale niche. Hyper Scape was a bust, with servers shutting down later this month. Ghost Recon Frontline’s announcement was not received well by the community, with the game going back to the drawing board, according to the Kotaku report.
A Ghost Recon battle royale could work, but it needs to fully embrace its tactical roots. Let the franchise’s core gameplay do the heavy lifting. There are plenty of over-the-top Battle Royales out there. You’re not knocking Warzone, Fortnite, or Apex off their pedestals by trying to do what they’re doing. Laser focus on Ghost Recon’s strengths and build around them.
Or create a throwback to the Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfare days. A solid tactical shooter with tons of content would do fantastic these days. And embrace the community and give people the tools to create their own maps. I always see Far Cry’s custom maps and wish those crazy tools were packed into a Ghost Recon game.
The past two Ghost Recon games haven’t been terrible. But they also haven’t lived up to the franchise’s past. We’ll see if Project OVER can avoid stumbling out of the gate.
Image: Ubisoft