Ubisoft’s next Ghost Recon game is reportedly facing a rough internal review, adding another question mark to one of the publisher’s long-running Tom Clancy series.
Insider Gaming reports that Project OVR, the codename attached to the next Ghost Recon, failed to meet internal alpha objectives laid out in a Ubisoft memo. The report says Ubisoft has brought in senior producer Bruno Galet and VP of Production Jean-Baptiste Duval to take a more hands-on role with the project after the review.
The claim is not an official announcement from Ubisoft, and the publisher has not revealed the next Ghost Recon publicly. Still, the report is specific enough to matter for fans who have been waiting since Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint, which Ubisoft lists with an October 4, 2019 release date.
Project OVR’s future now sounds uncertain
According to the report, developers connected to the project described poor management and unrealistic deadlines as reasons behind the failed review. The same report says staff are worried Project OVR could face a reboot, cancellation or wider fallout for teams attached to the game.
That is the part Ghost Recon fans will be watching most closely. A reset would likely stretch the gap since Breakpoint even further, while a cancellation would leave the tactical shooter series without a clear public path forward. Earlier reporting has suggested Ubisoft’s next Ghost Recon could move away from the recent third-person open-world format and toward a first-person tactical experience, but Ubisoft has not confirmed that direction.
The timing also puts the report inside a much bigger Ubisoft story. Game Developer reported this week that Ubisoft is closing its Winnipeg and Belgrade studios and could eliminate up to 380 roles through closures, restructuring and proposed job cuts. Belgrade previously contributed to Ghost Recon Wildlands, while Winnipeg worked on Ubisoft engine technology used across multiple projects.
Ubisoft has been reshaping its production structure after a difficult run, and our recent coverage of Ubisoft’s next major wave of Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry and Ghost Recon projects already made clear how important those familiar franchises are to the company’s future slate.
For Ghost Recon, the reported alpha miss does not mean Project OVR is over. The memo described in the report also says the game has a strong foundation. The uncertainty is whether Ubisoft can stabilize the project without another major delay, reset or round of cuts around it.