With Ubisoft Forward looking unlikely this year, here's what I'm still expecting from the publisher at Summer Game Fest 2025

Summer Game Fest is just around the corner, and for the last two years, Ubisoft Forward came as part of the packed schedule. But with the Assassin's Creed publisher's annual showcase seemingly MIA in 2025, I'm left with a lot of questions.

My guess as to why we might not be getting a Ubisoft Forward this year? Simply that Ubisoft doesn't have enough showable content to pad out an hour-long program. It's only just given us Assassin's Creed Shadows, after all, and with plenty of new content scheduled to come to the RPG as detailed in a recent roadmap, it makes sense that Ubisoft doesn't want to divert our attention from Naoe and Yasuke just yet.

But Ubisoft has been moving strangely in these pivotal days leading up to Summer Game Fest, and as an official partner of this weekend's LA festivities, I'm reluctant to believe that it has nothing in store…

Buying time

2025 has been a busy one for Ubisoft. Not only did Assassin's Creed Shadows finally launch after being delayed twice, the publisher recently announced a partnership with Chinese conglomerate Tencent.

The details around the deal are still somewhat hazy, but this partnership essentially creates a dedicated "mini-Ubisoft" that will be handling some of the publisher's biggest IPs in future. As a result, the assumed lack of Ubisoft Forward this year is indicative to me that Ubisoft is trying to lay low until it's ready to tell us exactly what that means for named franchises like Far Cry.

However, you can't blame me or any fellow Ubisoft fans for getting a little antsy. The list of upcoming Ubisoft games is looking sparse now that Assassin's Creed Shadows is out in the wild, and when the new Rainbow Six Siege game launches a few days from now on June 10, it'll be shorter still.

But still, that's not to say there's nothing in the tank. I get wanting to keep Shadows in the spotlight (pun intended) a little longer, given it barely launched two months ago, but Ubisoft would be missing a trick if it neglects to show off Anno 117: Pax Romana at Summer Game Fest this weekend.

The upcoming latest in one of the best city builder game franchises is currently slated for a "Winter 2025" release, but Ubisoft has yet to put a firm date on it.

Even a quick showing of the latest gameplay trailer would be useful to show fans that Ubisoft hasn't gone to ground completely, especially since it debuted said new trailer on YouTube two weeks ago and I'd somehow never caught wind of it until, well, literally just now. There's also the mystery-enshrouded Prince of Persia: Sands of Time remake on the cards, first announced in 2020, as well as Assassin's Creed: Codename Hexe and a huge question mark hanging over a prospective Far Cry 6 sequel – but now I'm getting greedy.

While I'd call it highly unlikely that Ubisoft's witchy follow-up to Assassin's Creed Shadows will get more than a mention (if anything at all) this weekend, the publisher has nodded to a different upcoming project in the lead-up to Summer Game Fest.

I'm talking about the cheeky Splinter Cell Remake tease that had fans thrown into a frenzy days ago, and now, it would almost be cruel to have us come away with nothing. Personally, I think this would be great to see during Sunday's Xbox Games Showcase – though with a last-minute summer edition of Sony State of Play now scheduled for June 4, it's anyone's guess what Ubi has up its sleeve.

Sure, Sony might have proven that there's no such thing as being too late to the Summer Game Fest party, but I'm still not expecting to see Ubisoft Forward announced anytime soon. Even without a dedicated showcase to gather all its ducks in a row, however, Ubisoft has the chance to still make a statement this weekend. Whether it chooses to illuminate some announced titles, go into more detail on the Assassin's Creed Shadows roadmap, or playfully tease us with an assortment of the two, I'll be keeping a beady eye out for the publisher's presence – and hopefully next year, Ubisoft Forward will be back on schedule.

Don't miss the Future Games Show Summer Showcase on June 7, hosted by the one and only Matt Mercer