Ubisoft’s latest extreme sports venture, Riders Republic, won’t be hitting store shelves on February 25th as initially planned. The delay, announced on the game’s official site, boots the game to an as-yet-unspecified date ‘later this year.’
“We can’t wait to have you traverse our vibrant world and live out your own rider’s fantasy,” Ubisoft explains. “Today, we want to let you know that we have made the decision to move our release to later this year.”
Unveiled during the Ubisoft Forward virtual showcase last September, Riders Republic is one of the more intriguing propositions in what has been a busy few months for the publisher. Developed by Ubisoft Annecy, the team behind Ubisoft’s underwhelming 2016 Alpine sports title Steep, Riders Republic expands beyond the frosty climes of the publisher’s previous attempt at an outdoor extreme sports titles.
Chiefly a massively multiplayer title, it throws a wide net over the notion of extreme sports pooling together activities as diverse as biking in its various forms, skiing, snowboarding, and wingsuit gliding. An expansive open-world playground amalgamating famous spots from multiple US National Parks will see players test their skills on terrain as diverse as snowy mountains and parched canyons.
Riders Republic Potentially a Worthy Successor To SSX
Throw in delightfully hectic mass start 50-player PvP races, a good dose of lighthearted silliness as well as Ubisoft’s signature showy swagger, and Riders Republic may very well deliver the game clamored for by nostalgic SSX fans. With a planned release on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Google Stadia,
Ubisoft stopped short of specifying why it opted for the delay or providing details about when we can expect Riders Republic to arrive in 2021. The publisher states that ‘this additional time will allow our passionate team to deliver the best fun fueled experience to our players.’ It isn’t unreasonable to assume that remote work measures and the seemingly unending COVID pandemic presumably had their part to play in the decision.
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