Currently, Ubisoft is making headlines for its earnings report delay and stock trading halt, two actions that could be a sign of a major upheaval to come (but nothing is confirmed, so let's keep speculation to a minimum). In recent years, few publishers have struggled to clean up their public reputation as much as Ubisoft, despite the fact that they release great games like Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. At this point, most people have decided whether or not they like the Ubisoft formula, which is most often represented by Assassin's Creed and Far Cry series. Now, these IPs don't release new games as often as they did in the 2010s, but they reached a tipping point where the prospect of a new game wasn't as exciting as it used to be.
The thing is, there are so many great Ubisoft franchises that have been left to rot waiting for a revival. Series that have enjoyed recognition and relatively established fanbases that would love to receive new entries, and they would have helped diversify Ubisoft's recent portfolio. At the moment, the future of all Ubisoft IPs feels up in the air, but some franchises have been figuratively dead for years.
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If a franchise has received a game in the last 5 years or has a new entry announced for 2025 (with a title and all), it will not be considered. Prince of Persia and Heroes of Might and Magic are examples of such franchise agreements.
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We will list the number of main entries and the last game's release year. Also, if Ubisoft bought an existing franchise, we would list the number of releases before and after the acquisition.
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Ubisoft has created many great games over the years. Just wanted to say that.
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We only consider IPs with multiple games. So nothing like that Children of Light, For gloryand Immortal Fenyx Rising.
Rayman (Mario + Rabbids DLC notwithstanding)
The biggest Ubisoft franchise that has been mostly dormant for a decade
- Number of main Rayman games: 5
- Latest Mainline Rayman Game: Rayman Legends (2013)
- Last appearance of any kind: Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope DLC 3: Rayman in the Phantom Show (2023)
- Fun fact: Since last Rayman adventure, it's been about 10 Rabbis games or releases.
When people think of underutilized Ubisoft franchises, Rayman will likely pop into their minds first, as this series was a staple for roughly two decades. Despite never reaching Mario or Sonic's level of exposure, Rayman was right below them as a major mascot synonymous with gaming as a whole. The original trilogy is consistently brilliant, with all three being timeless (but still very much of their time) platformers. Then they were somehow surpassed Rayman's origin and, in particular, Rayman Legendsthe latter of which is arguably one of the best games of the 2010s. If we are talking about mainline records only, Rayman has undoubtedly produced nothing short of masterpieces.
In the mid-2000s Raymans importance began to decline, with Ubisoft focusing more on Rabbis spin-off franchise. Now I will say that this shift has produced gold over the years, especially the bizarrely awesome Mario + Rabbids crossover games; unfortunately, this success seemingly came at the expense of Rayman himself, who now feels like a footnote in the Rabbids' legacy rather than the other way around.
Splinter cell
A genre-defining stealth franchise without a game since the PS3 and Xbox 360 era (although a remake has been announced for 2026)
- Number of Mainline Splinter Cell Games: 6 (Does not count compilations)
- Latest Main Splinter Cell Game: Blacklist (2013)
- Last appearance: Splinter Cell: Deathwatch (2025)
- Upcoming release: Spinner cell Remake is aiming for 2026
- Fun fact: As Open-Critic launched in 2015, a Splinter cell the game has yet to receive an average score. As said, Blacklist has an Open-Critic page.
Hard to believe these days, given the way things have gone over the past decade, but Splinter cell used to be up there with Metal Gear and Hitman as one of the definitive stealth franchises. Hell, you could argue that Ubisoft's series had a stronger early 2000s than its contemporaries, a period that in retrospect was the genre's golden era.
Since 2013 BlacklistSam Fisher has largely been retired, appearing only in rumors of a potential new entry that ultimately went nowhere and side quests like Netflix Splinter Cell: Deathwatch. The series skipped the eighth console generation entirely, and won't debut until at least six years into the ninth run.
Driver
Ubisoft published The Best Driver Game And Then Mostly Nothing
- Number of main drivers before Ubisoft's acquisition: 4
- Number of main drivers after Ubisoft's acquisition: 4
- Latest driver games in any form: Driver: Speedboat Paradise (2014)
- Fun fact: Driver: San Francisco was delisted in 2016 and is hard to come by these days. If you've never played it and come across a physical copy, pick it up. The game is relentlessly fun.
In 2006 Driver acquired Reflections Interactive, the developer behind Driver. As good as the original PS1 game was, the series had lost its way by the mid-2000s, and the third entry was notoriously broken. Parallel lines was an improvement, but not enough to really turn the franchise around. Therefore, the franchise falling under the Ubisoft banner was a positive move both at the time and in hindsight, which we probably never would have gotten Driver: San Francisco.
By far the best game in the series, San Francisco said to hell with realism and instead gave you the power to possess drivers' bodies and quickly switch between cars. This mechanic was absolutely incredible and perhaps served as inspiration for Watch Dogs Legionand it could and should have been extended by a sequel. Speaking of Watch Dogsthe first game reportedly began life as one Driver sequel, before turning into its own thing. Honestly, that series was a good spiritual successor, but they're still different enough that they don't scratch the same itch.
In 2024, Ubisoft mentioned that some Driver project was in the works, so a revival may be in the works in due course. There is hope.
Silent Hunter
Ubisoft's Submarine War Sim series rests on the bottom of the ocean
- Number of Silent Hunter games before Ubisoft's acquisition: 1
- Number of Silent Hunter games after Ubisoft's acquisition: 5 (but also several spin-offs and mobile games)
- Last Silent Hunter Game: Silent Hunter Online (2013–16)
- Fun fact: Silent Hunter 3 is the best submarine swimming game of all time. Admittedly, it doesn't have much competition, but it executed the concept perfectly for its time.
Here's a more niche series that was part of Ubisoft's release calendar for a while. Between 2005 and 2010, Ubisoft published three Silent Hunter game, which is impressive considering the concept was hardly mainstream. While all are decent, the later games received a bit more criticism than their predecessors, with Silent Hunter 5 is probably the weakest in the series.
You can still buy the Ubisoft entries on PC, so they haven't been eradicated from history by any stretch of the imagination; however, Silent Hunter may have been a victim of Assassin's Creed and Far Cry boom in the 2010s. Over the past 15 years, the IP was a poor fit for Ubisoft's preferred type of project, and a new entry may not have been seen as worth the risk.
Red steel
The second game was a lot of fun, but Red Steel died with the Nintendo Wii
- Number of Red Steel Games: 2
- Latest Red Steel game: Red Steel 2 (2010)
- Fun fact: i loved Red Steel 2 back in the day.
Okay, hear from me. Yes, Red steel wasn't very playable and is mostly remembered as a mediocre Wii launch title. But the 2010 sequel was much, much better in pretty much every area, to the point where it's undoubtedly a must-have for anyone who had (or still has) Nintendo's console. No game has been re-released or ported to another system, and Red steel actually died when the Wii stopped being relevant.
Although the controllers are sold based on the use of the Wii remote, the controls could have been adapted to a regular gamepad as the run-and-slash/gun gameplay is not that different from Shadow Warrior trilogy. If a sequel had been designed for any major system, it could have focused on fine-tuning the bombastic and bloody action and creating a fun single-player experience that was a far cry from Ubisoft's other releases over the past 15 years.
Special Mention: Core Might And Magic Series (Not Complete Franchise)
Lives on in free-to-play mobile games and spin-offs
- Number of Main Might and Magic Games before Ubisoft's acquisition: 9
- Number of main Might and Magic games after Ubisoft's acquisition: 1 (but also several spin-offs and mobile games)
- Last Magic and Might Game of any kind: Might & Magic Fates (2025)
- Fun fact: There has been one Might & Magic released almost every year since 2018, at least in some form.
OK, Might and Magic is a bit of a strange case, as Ubisoft has kept the franchise fairly active since its acquisition in 2003. Some of the series' most beloved releases, such as Dark Messiah of power and magichas come under the purview of the publisher, but the company has been seemingly hesitant to produce new main contributions. Speaking only of numbered Might and Magic game, was Ubisoft's only release Might and Magic X: Legacyand which came out almost a decade after its predecessor.
Ubisoft has been more than happy to celebrate the series' historic legacy, and spin-offs such as Might and Magic: Era of Chaos are available on mobile platforms for anyone who wants to try them. But at this point, Might and Magic XI seems unlikely to happen anytime soon, although we should get a new one Heroes of Might and Magic soon.
