The sources go on to reveal that Immortals 2 was going to be a big game, and would have been set across a fictional version of Polynesian islands. The game would have been developed with the help of Polynesian consultants to help preserve the rich history of the region. This tracks with rumours from back in 2022, which indicated that the game, codenamed Oxygen, would have left behind its predecessor’s Greek mythology-based setting for a setting based on Hawaiian Polynesian.

The Axios report goes on to reveal that, back in Spring, there was an internal demo with quite a few hours of playable content, though revisions to the Assassin’s Creed engine that the project was being built on meant development was taking longer, while Ubisoft also wanted to keep its team size small. Members of the development team were allegedly “surprised” when the game got cancelled.

The report further claims that players would have been able to customize the playable character’s appearance, body-type, and gender, while earning the favour and new powers of Polynesian gods would also have added new tattoos to your look. As for the setting itself, players would be moving from island to island, each being a fictional version of real-world places like New Zealand, Hawaii, and Tahiti. Players’ actions in gameplay would also have affected the landscape.

Exploration would also allegedly have taken a different approach than what Ubisoft’s games have become known for. Rather than an abundance of in-game map markers, quest markers, compass points, and the like, exploration would have instead relied on diegetic elements, like following the wind, using the positions of stars to navigate the world, and tracking animals.

Narratively, the report claims Immortals 2 would have dropped the first game’s sequel, and would instead have put a greater emphasis on player choice and more malleable storytelling. A much more realistic visual style (as compared to the original’s more stylized look) was also on the table, and at one point, Ubisoft was considering whether to release the game as a new, standalone release instead of a sequel to Immortals Fenyx Rising.

Rumours of Immortals 2/Oxygen being cancelled first came up last month, with Ubisoft later confirming that it was reallocating development teams on to other projects. Rumours have also indicated that the game was cancelled due to development priority going to Assassin’s Creed Codename RED.

The sequel was allegedly based on Hawaiian Polynesian culture with a god-like narrator. It reportedly aimed for a 2025 release, but plans for the series are sidelined, as Ubisoft focuses on more “prominent” brands. VGC also understood that most sales for the first game were from discounts and that they came to be 70 percent less in Europe than Assassin’s Creed Valhalla achieved in a similar period.

As disappointing as it sounds for fans, this makes sense from a business perspective. Ubisoft has cancelled several projects over the past few years, including a Splinter Cell battle royale title, competitive shooter Project Q, Ghost Recon Frontline and more.

With Assassin’s Creed being its most successful property, it’s putting all its eggs in one basket with titles like Assassin’s Creed Mirage, Assassin’s Creed Codename RED and Assassin’s Creed Codename HEXE. There are even more in the works yet to be announced, and that doesn’t include spin-offs like the mobile-only Codename JADE or VR-focused Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR. Time will tell if the Immortals series gets another shot.

Instead of Greek mythology, the spin-off is based on Hawaiian Polynesian culture. There’s still a God narrator but though it’s visually stylized, the team is aiming to make it appear less like a Breath of the Wild clone. Despite this, it seems a visual reboot has been discussed. Grubb’s source has seen concept art for the same and noted the project to be in early pre-production with a possible 2025 release.

If Oxygen is indeed in such early development, then it may be a while before an official announcement (especially not at the upcoming Ubisoft Forward in September). As for everything else, we’ll have to stay tuned for more details but it should be interesting to see how Ubisoft handles the concept.

Immortals Fenyx Rising is available for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, PC, and Google Stadia. Check out our review for it here.