We learned last month that Ubisoft canceled a planned sequel to its mythological Greek adventure Immortals Fenyx Rising, but more details of what could have been have emerged today. Most notably, it sounds like Immortals 2 would have been the biggest shake-up to the typical Ubisoft open-world formula in years, dropping the handholding in favor of a more free-form experience inspired by Elden Ring.
Today’s report from Axios reiterates some of what we already knew: the game would have taken place across a Polynesian archipelago and incorporate powers based on earth, fire, wind, and water. However, it also includes some additional, tantalizing nuggets of information. Immortals 2 would have scaled back the publisher’s modus operandi of endless map markers to make players work harder. This would have included tracking animals, following the wind, and navigating by the stars.
Furthermore, Immortals 2 also have introduced player choice as a significant feature of the story, with your actions affecting the world. Alongside this would be a revised, more realistic visual style. With all of these changes, Ubisoft was considering rebranding it as an entirely new IP.
However, development was already taking longer than Immortals: Fenyx Rising had as a result of increased scope, engine changes, and a small team. Ultimately, Ubisoft decided to cancel Immortals 2 to better focus its resources on projects more likely to offer a return on investment, including the bevy of upcoming Assassin’s Creed games, Star Wars: Outlaws, and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora. While Ubisoft had previously cited “solid on-going sales-through trends” for Immortals, calling it “a player-favorite new IP,” though never supplied concrete figures.