Ubisoft Annecy, the studio behind 2016's Steep (opens in new tab), has revealed its next sports action game, Riders Republic, at today's Ubisoft Forward event.
Set in rural America, the upcoming multiplayer title allows up to 50 players to race against each other by bike, snowboard, or wingsuit (including rocket propelled variants) across a number of iconic US National Parks.
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Igor Manceau, creative director on Riders Republic, tells me how Steep's release as a free PS Plus game back in 2018 was the "key moment" that inspired Ubisoft Annecy to create something centred around the excitement and camaraderie of online community.
"We had more than 10 million players after that PS Plus push," he tells me, "with many players joining at the same time, coming in with their friends, and getting a chance to play together. Even though Steep was not super social at its core, we saw people having fun with each other, and thought there was a great opportunity to make something truly different in that sense"
Your character in Riders Republic is completely customisable, while the option for squad play and a Destiny-style multiplayer hub folds in a social component to the game's focus on adrenaline-pumping, death-defying stunts and races.
"There is room in the industry for fresher games, with amore positive tone that's fun, and light spirited, and we definitely wanted Riders Republic to be that game." says Manceau. "A game where you can join your friend, enjoy great moments with them using all the toys that we offer."
Riders Republic launches in February 25, 2021 for PC, PS4, Xbox One, PS5 (opens in new tab), and Xbox Series X (opens in new tab), with a number of technical enhancements available for the latter two next-gen consoles, both of which are scheduled to land later this year.
Riders Republic is just one of several games being showcased at Ubisoft's digital press conference today, where the publisher will likely reveal more news about Far Cry 6 (opens in new tab), Watch Dogs Legion (opens in new tab), and Assassin's Creed Valhalla (opens in new tab), alongside a few other big surprises.
For more, check out all the biggest upcoming games of 2020 on the way, or watch the latest episode of Dialogue Options below.
