LogInUbisoft tried to make a game very different from the rest of its projects.
Image credit: Ubisoft | Immortals Fenyx Rising
A month ago, Ubisoft shut down the development of the Immortals Fenyx Rising sequel as it was "reallocating some creative teams and resources within the Quebec studio." Sources said the company canceled the project in favor of Assassin's Creed Codename Red – an open-world RPG set in feudal Japan.
Apparently, the game that never saw the light of day, codenamed Oxygen, was inspired by Elden Ring and The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, according to Axios. What an interesting mix!
Image credit: Ubisoft | Immortals Fenyx Rising
It was supposed to be a massive game set on an alternate version of the Polynesian archipelago, developed together with Polynesian consultants. It took the Quebec team longer to create Oxygen than the first Immortals Fenyx Rising because of the game's more impressive scope, revisions to the game engine, and a small number of people working on it as Ubisoft was focused on Assassin's Creed Red.
Despite the difficulties, Axios says that there were "several playable hours" available in an internal demo.
Image credit: Ubisoft | Immortals Fenyx Rising
Last year, an image from Oxygen leaked online, depicting the protagonist. The idea was to let players customize their characters' gender and look. You would travel from island to island and manage how your actions impacted the land around you.
"The player's character could curry favor with various Polynesian gods, gain elemental powers and shape-shift, while gaining new tattoos based on the choices they made as the game's story progressed," shared Axios.
One source mentioned that "the goal was also to make a game very different from the rest of the Ubisoft portfolio." And it seems it would be quite fresh compared to the company's Assassin's Creed sequels if it hadn't been canceled.
Ubisoft's games are infamous for their endless quest markers on the map, but Oxygen would not have so much clutter distracting you and would give you a chance to "search harder to figure out where to go, by tracking animals, following the wind or navigating via the position of the stars in the in-game sky."
Moreover, the new game would not focus on solving puzzles and offer a choice-heavy story instead, complete with more realistic graphics.
Image credit: Ubisoft | Immortals Fenyx Rising
But alas, all of this was not meant to be, and now at least part of the team is working on a new Assassin's Creed game. I wonder if Ubisoft will use what has been done in another project one day.
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