Ubisoft, the creator of Assassin’s Creed and Just Dance, is teaming up with the Arbitrum Foundation and all-in-one Web3 game development platform Sequence to develop a new game in the Captain Laserhawk universe. The title, called Captain Laserhawk: the G.A.M.E., will be a transmedia experience where the narrative will change based on the decisions and governance of the players.
Nicolas Pouard, Vice President of Ubisoft Labs, said in a statement that Captain Laserhawk: the G.A.M.E. will be a groundbreaking, player-driven project. Arbitrum’s blockchain will give players a real voice in shaping the story, gameplay, and even side experiences. This will foster a shared creation, paving the way for a collaborative future for the game.
Captain Laserhawk: the G.A.M.E. will feature characters from Ubisoft titles Assassin’s Creed, Rayman, and Beyond Good and Evil. It will expand the Captain Laserhawk universe, created from a 2023 Netflix film called Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix, which itself drew inspiration from 2013 Ubisoft game Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon.
The game will take advantage of Arbitrum’s fast speeds and low transaction costs. According to CoinGecko, Arbitrum is the leading Ethereum Layer 2 scaling solution with $2.6 billion in Total Value Locked. This summer, the Arbitrum Foundation announced a $215 million incentive program to spur game development on its blockchain.
According to the announcement, Captain Laserhawk: the G.A.M.E. is less likely to be a traditional gaming title and more of a communal experience. Players will be able to increase their character’s scores by participating in quests in and out of the Ubisoft ecosystem, transforming their characters from faceless citizens into leaders within Eden, the dystopian technocracy of future America. From there, the narrative will change based on the governance of said players.
Ubisoft Continues Push into Web3
Although many traditional game publishers have backed off their Web3 plans, Ubisoft continues to push forward. The Assassin’s Creed creator has been at the forefront of bridging the traditional gaming and Web3 gaming worlds, as shown from its initiatives in the crypto space.
It started with an announcement in 2021 that non-fungible tokens would be added to Ghost Recon: Breakpoint. Back then, it was one of many traditional gaming companies experimenting with adding NFTs to games. And like many, it faced pushback. The players of Ghost Recon: Breakpoint protested, but Ubisoft did not back down.
The company would later debut ‘smart collectibles’ for the game Assassin’s Creed, introduce Rabbids avatars into The Sandbox metaverse, and partner with Immutable and Animoca Brands to further the connection between traditional gaming and Web3 gaming. The furor has seemed to die down recently, perhaps as NFTs themselves have struggled or Ubisoft’s Web3 ambitions are more entrenched.
Now, the company is focused on producing the Web3 game Champions Tactics: Grimoria Chronicles, for which it launched an NFT collection that sold out in minutes, bucking market trends. With today’s announcement of a Web3 transmedia experience in the Captain Laserhawk universe, Ubisoft is leaning further into its Web3 direction. Time will tell if it is successful, but the company is certainly making things interesting in the short term.