After a rather lengthy delay, Immortals Fenyx Rising got its grand re-reveal for its release near the end of the year. The game takes the Ubisoft open world approach and applies it to a cartoony look with a callback in design to older action-adventure titles. But if you recall, the game was originally revealed under the title Gods and Monsters. Its new title is certainly more unique, no doubt, but it seems the change may have been sparked from a very odd place.

It seems as if the trademark for Gods and Monsters was challenged by… Monster Energy Drink. That’s right, the energy drink company seemed to want to challenge the game’s name due to the monster in it. You can read the opposition documents through here. While it’s unclear if this the only reason for the name change, it seems Ubisoft decided it just wasn’t worth the effort to fight in the end.

Immortals Fenyx Rising will release for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Switch, PC and Stadia on December 3rd. You can check out a raw hour of gameplay footage to check out the game through here.

Ubisoft hadn’t said much about Gods and Monsters since they first announced it at E3 2019, but new updates on the game are around the corner. Recently, thanks to age ratings in Taiwan, it was reported that Immortals: Fenyx Rising could be the game’s new name, and now, that has been confirmed.

In a blog update talking about the recently confirmed Ubisoft Forward showcase for next week, the company confirmed that the show would also feature “a much-anticipated update on our new IP, Immortals Fenyx Rising, formerly known as Gods and Monsters.”

Immortals: Fenyx Rising will likely be a much different game from what it was revealed as last year, and that’s probably going to go beyond just its name. Earlier this year, Ubisoft confirmed that their vision for the game had changed, and following a major shift in development, everything from the project’s name and tone to its character design and mechanics had been reworked. It’ll be interesting to see what its re-reveal will be like.

The Ubisoft Forward event is set for September 10, a little over a week from now. Stay tuned until then, and we’ll keep bringing you all the updates that come our way.

Following a report leaking the same, Ubisoft has confirmed that the next Ubisoft Forward stream will take place on September 10th. It’s slated for 12 PM PDT with the pre-show starting at 11 AM PDT. Check out the trailer below for a quick look at the games that will be showcased.

Some of them have already been announced, like Watch Dogs: Legion or Sam Fisher aka Zero being in Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege. The real big reveal could be Gods and Monsters, which has reportedly been renamed to Immortals: Fenyx Rising. This will likely be the first gameplay showcase for the open world mythological action adventure.

This will be the second Ubisoft Forward that the company is hosting after the last took place in July (with many other scandals having cropped up since then). Like before, viewers can earn in-game rewards from tuning in, though these have yet to be detailed. Stay tuned for more details and maybe even a sale on Ubisoft titles in the coming days.

Whether it’s the firing of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla creative director Ashraf Ismail, recent reports of sexual misconduct or the raised fist symbol used for an antagonistic faction in Tom Clancy’s Elite Squad, Ubisoft seemingly can’t catch a break. Despite all of this, the company is going to have another Ubisoft Forward digital stream. While it confirmed this back in July, the stream could be coming as soon as next week.

According to Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier, it will be happening in the “very near future (next week, I believe).” He also noted, rightly so, that “Once again, their timing is impeccable.” As it stands, we may finally get to see Gods and Monsters again. A new rating by the Taiwan Digital Game Rating Committee for Immortals: Fenyx Rising was recently spotted, which could be announced as the title’s new name.

There may even be a release date (and maybe even some gameplay). A recent leak has also raised the possibility of a comeback for Prince of Persia. Other potential reveals include gameplay for Far Cry 6, more news on Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Quarantine, and of course, more promotion for Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and Watch Dogs: Legion. Stay tuned for more details along with an official announcement on the stream’s timing in the next few days.

BTW, Ubisoft has been planning another Ubisoft Forward video game reveal stream for the very near future (next week, I believe). Once again, their timing is impeccable

— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) August 31, 2020

Gods and Monsters was first unveiled back in June 2019, but we haven’t seen or heard much of the game since then. Ubisoft have given assurances a couple of times over the months that its development is progressing well, and following a leak a couple of months ago, the company also confirmed that everything from the art design, features, and tone to even the game’s name itself have changed as a result of a development reboot.

We might now know what this new version of what was previously Gods and Monsters will be called. As spotted by Gematsu, a Ubisoft game by the name of Immortals: Fenyx Rising has been rated for the PS4, Xbox One, PC, and Nintendo Switch by the Taiwan Digital Game Rating Committee. Those were, of course, the platforms that Gods and Monsters was initially announced for, and the new name also has that Greek mythology flavour that the game will presumably still be focused on.

It’s curious that PS5 and Xbox Series X versions of the game haven’t received ratings, given the fact that Ubisoft is releasing all of its new titles as cross-gen titles, though it’s entirely likely that that will be happening eventually. As for when the game might be re-revealed, the company has another Ubisoft Forward event planned for September, so that seems like a safe bet.

Curiously enough, recent reports have suggested that Ubisoft will also be announcing a new Prince of Persia remake very soon. Read more on that through here.

Ubisoft have a packed lineup as far as upcoming releases are concerned. Watch Dogs: Legion and Assassin’s Creed Valhalla both release later this year, while Far Cry 6 is scheduled to launch in February. Beyond that, multiple other AAA games are also in development- namely Skull and Bones, Gods and Monster, and Rainbow Six Quarantine. Incidentally, all three of these have suffered significant delays (Skull and Bones has suffered multiple, in fact), while Skull and Bones and Gods of Monsters have also reportedly been rebooted during development.

Development on all three titles, however, seems to be going well. Speaking at Ubisoft’s recent quarterly earnings call, when asked specifically about Gods and Monsters and Skull and Bones, CEO Yves Guillemot said that Ubisoft is very happy with how development of both games is going.

“Gods and Monsters and Skull and Bones are well on the way,” said Guillemot. “They are performing very well. We are very happy with the way it’s going on those two games.”

Earlier during the call, CFO Frédérick Duguet fielded similar questions about the development of Gods and Monsters and Rainbow Six Quarantine, and whether they are still planned for releases in the current fiscal year. Duguet gave assurances that both games’ development scheduled are progressing well, before saying that while launching both before April remains the plan, it’s possible that one of them could get delayed into the next fiscal year, echoing similar earlier statements about the same.

“They are doing well,” said Duguet. “They are benefitting from the extra time we gave them, and we’re happy with the progress. Today, we’ve confirmed the release schedule with five AAA games in the fiscal year, but of course, we’ll continue monitoring the situation closely, including for the two Q4 titles. Potentially, one of them could be at risk to be postponed to fiscal year 2022. But as we have said repeatedly, if we were to take that decision to postpone a game, we will do it for the long-term value of the game.”

During their investors call, Ubisoft also confirmed a second Ubisoft Forward event will be coming in September. It’s possible that we hear something about some of these games at the show.

Ubisoft has recently been going through major changes internally, with multiple employees, including top executives, having faced sexual misconduct allegations. Read more on that through here.

Ubisoft announced their E3-style showcase, called Ubisoft Forward, a couple of months ago, and with the show’s July 12 premiering edging closer, the company has released a short teaser trailer to kick the hype into gear. It shows glimpses of what we can assume are the games we’ll be seeing at the event- check it out below.

Gameplay for Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is set to premier at Ubisoft Forward, while it’s also likely that we’ll be seeing much more of Watch Dogs Legion, hopefully including a concrete release date. Rainbow Six Quarantine and Gods and Monsters haven’t really received any updates since their announcements, so now seems like the right time for that. In fact, if we do see Gods and Monsters, it might be quite different from what it was announced as.

Meanwhile, previous leaks have suggested that Far Cry 6 will also be out before April 2021, with recent reports claiming that the game – supposedly starring Breaking Bad’s Giancarlo Esposito – will be announced this month. We might also see more of the upcoming Roller Champions.

One surprise game that was announced last year was Gods and Monsters from Ubisoft. The game looked to be a cartoony open world game that saw you fight through various creatures of Greek myth in what was described as a family friendly adventure game. Unfortunately, the game was delayed, like pretty much all of Ubisoft’s slate of games at the time, and has not been heard from since. But we got an unexpected look at the game, though it may not be an accurate one.

Yesterday, it was discovered that a playable demo had been accidentally uploaded to the Google Stadia servers. You can see parts of it below. While it’s obviously incomplete, the demo is almost entirely playable and you get a sense of what the game looks and plays like.

Ubisoft confirmed the leak was legitimate to Eurogamer, and that the demo was from a year old build from E3 2019, where the game was announced. But they did also say that the game has changed. The tone, character design and even art style have all apparently been altered since that unveiling. They even confirm that the game’s name is even different.

“Our vision for the game formerly known as Gods and Monsters has evolved in surprising ways, which is common when developing exciting new worlds,” Ubisoft Quebec’s Marc-Alexis Cote said.

“This footage is from our E3 2019 demo, which was shown to select press last June and is now over one year old. Much has changed since then in terms of features, tone, art and character design, and even the name of the game. We are hard at work and very excited to finally show players what we have created at the end of summer.”

Considering how they’ve gone as far as to change the name, it sounds like there’s been quite the overhaul on this game. It was originally announced as coming for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC and Stadia. We’ll have to wait for the game’s reintroduction to see if that’s still the case.

A short video of Gods and Monsters gameplay!
byu/TheMoonsaults inStadia

Ubisoft’s lineup of releases for fiscal year 2020-21 (which lasts until March 31, 2021) is looking extremely impressive, and very, very packed, and during their recent quarterly financial briefing, they re-iterated that they have quite a few releases planned for the coming months.

While talking about the impact of the COVID-19 crisis, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot said that though the company still plans to release 5 major AAA games in the period, the uncertainty of the rapidly evolving situation might force a change in plans. Citing things such as remote work requirements and the economic impacts of the pandemic, Guilletmot stated that one of the five planned AAA releases might end up getting delayed into the next fiscal year, but of course stopped short of saying which one that might be.

“The COVID-19 crisis calls for prudence, as numerous uncertainties have arisen,” Guillemot said. “The transition to working from home has had short-term repercussions on our production, for the time being limited to few weeks. The coming months will provide more visibility on whether we can maintain our release plans. Additionally, it is unclear what effects the economic crisis is going to have on the operating conditions of our business partners and on consumer spending.

“For the sake of transparency and in order to reflect the potential impact of those external uncertainties, we have decided to supplement our targets with a range. The bottom range presents our estimate of the impact that these external factors could have if they were to actually materialize. It notably reflects the possibility that we decide to postpone the release of a AAA title to 2021-22, if it ensures to maximize the long-term potential of our line-up.”

Four of these five major upcoming releases have already been announced. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla releases this Holiday season, while Watch Dogs: Legion is also reportedly planned as a launch title for the PS5 and Xbox Series X. Additionally, Rainbow Six Quarantine and Gods and Monsters are currently scheduled to come out before April 2021.

The fifth game hasn’t yet been announced, but reports suggest that it is going to be Far Cry 6. Whether or not that ends up being true is probably something we will find out in July with Ubisoft Forward, the company’s E3-style digital showcase for new reveals and updates.

Still feeling the pang of Ubisoft promising gameplay for Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and under-delivering at the recent Inside Xbox? Good news then, because Ubisoft has announced “Ubisoft Forward” for July 12th, Taking place at 12 PM PT, this “E3-style showcase” will feature news, reveals and “more”.

The digital showcase is two months away so it will be some time before Ubisoft details what to expect. However, it’s safe to assume that Assassin’s Creed Valhalla will get a more in-depth look, especially with regards to gameplay. Updates on titles like Watch Dogs: Legion, Rainbow Six Quarantine and Gods and Monsters can also be expected (along with how the COVID-19 pandemic may have impacted their release dates).

That’s not including on-going titles like Rainbow Six Siege, The Division 2 and For Honor which will likely receive some new details. As for titles like Beyond Good and Evil 2 – which has been in development for a long, long while – it’s probably best to temper expectations. Stay tuned for more details in the coming months.