Steep
Publisher:
Ubisoft
Developer:
Ubisoft Annecy
Platforms:
PC, Xbox One, PS4
Genre:Open World, Sports
Release Date:December 2, 2016
Steep is an open world winter sports game that is being developed by Ubisoft Annecy and published by Ubisoft. The game focuses on the online multiplayer mode. This mode is said to be one that will allow players to compete against each other in a wide range of different modes. The game also features quite a bit on the amount of points and votes players are going to be able to get when they pull off some crazy moves.
Ubisoft Annecy is not a company that is all that well known to the general public, but it is a studio that has a long history in the Ubisoft world. The firm has contributed to three Splinter Cell games, as well as six Asasssin’s Creed games including Black Flag and Unity. This is the first sports gmae of any kind that Ubisoft Annecy has worked on. Steep is due to launch on the PC, Xbox One and PS4 on December 2, 2016.
Development
Ubisoft Annecy is working on Steep, after having previously spent quite a bit of time on the multiplayer modes for titles like the Assassin’s Creed franchise. Ubisoft had a number of studios all over the world working on Steep, as Ubisoft Kiev and and Ubisoft Montpelier are also contributing efforts to making the game. According to those working on the game, development for Steep began in the early part of 2013, and was reportedly inspired by the developers’ close proximity to to the Alps. Development for the title was also aided and inspired by another Ubisoft game, Ghost Recon: Wildlands. In that game, there are a number of ways to traverse the vast open world including Paragliding. The company saw how nice it looked to have characters paragliding and wanted to be able to use those mechanics in another game. The team announced it felt winter extreme sports seemed to be the best way to go about creating another game with these mechanics.
The larger Ubisoft company was originally not that excited about producing a game that was entirely about winter extreme sports but was turned around and eventually greenlit Steep when they did a bit of research and saw the massive number of videos posted on YouTube which show these kinds of sports are still very popular. The game was shown off during E3, but Ubisoft Annecy said it couldn’t divulge a ton of information about the game but they did officially reveal it and show off some of the gameplay.
In June of 2016 at E3, Steep was officially announced. In August it was divulged it would be launched for the Xbox One, PS4 and PC on December 2. At the same time it was announced at least one piece of DLC would be launching alongside the game. The Moonlight Pack contains three additional night challenges, three new night outfits, a Wingsuit Sparkle Flare and glowing equipment that can be used in any of the sports in Steep. A season pass was announced but the developers said it likely wouldn’t be available at launch, but would have its date revealed later.
In October, two November open betas were announced. In November of 2016 the season pass was officially revealed and was said to be bringing new sports, costumes and equipment. The packs that are offered in the season pass will be able to be purchased separately or as one big addition. The prices of the season pass and the individual packs have not yet been revealed.
Gameplay
The game is designed to have an open world feel that allows players to find different places they want to go and try different sports and different tricks. The company has said it borrowed from games like The Division in order to have a kind of shared multiplayer mode, where people can pop in and be trying out the same mountain or area in Steep.
There is a Go Pro mode that takes a different kind of point of view in order to show off just how crazy some of the sports and some of the tricks in the game will look when you are trying to pull them off.
There are regular trails that people can try and beat that have been laid out in the game, but users will also be able to create their own courses and trails in the mountains of Steep. The development team has said the players will be able to keep on playing these trails until they are comfortable with them and they can them share them to the public and their friends who can then download those courses into their own game and try them out.
While points are given out to players when they pull off some of the crazier moves in the game, Ubisoft Annecy has said it also really wants to “support failure.” This is because the sports that take place in the game are quite extreme and are going to be near impossible to have a successful go all the time. In one interview, a member of the development team there will even be ways to score points when they have failed to pull off the moves they try.
While the game focuses on players doing their different sports in the Alps, the development team has said it will be introducing a new map for players to play the same sports in Alaska. The season pass will offer other things that can be done in Alaska and it’s presumed this map will be part of a day one patch.
Sports
In the base game version of Steep, players can snowboard, ski, paraglide or use a wingsuit. The season pass will bring other winter themed extreme sports including Rocket Wings, Base Jumping and Speed Gliding. These games will have otehr kinds of equipment and costumes that will only be available in the addons.
Note: This wiki will be updated once we have more information about the game