Ubisoft’s new battle arena game has been canceled before release

Another Ubisoft endeavor, its in-the-works battle arena title Project Q, has been canceled, as first reported by Insider Gaming. This news comes a week after the Ubisoft company announced a massive cost-cutting endeavor that saw three other unannounced projects get canceled.

In addition to sources that spoke to Insider Gaming, a reported message on the Ubisoft playtester Discord channel has confirmed the news:

“Sadly we have to cancel our upcoming closed tests as Project Q will no longer continue development,” the message reportedly said. “This also means that we will need to shut down this Discord server. We don’t have further information to communicate right now but we want to thank you all for your passion and your love for Project Q.”

A day removed from the original report by Insider Gaming, a Ubisoft spokesperson gave a statement to Video Game Chronicle confirming the news:

“We can confirm we will no longer support the development of Project Q in order to focus on priority projects, to which our teams are being reallocated.”

Very little was publicly made available about Project Q, which was introduced back in April 2022. All Ubisoft said about the game was that it was “not a battle royale” but a game that would feature “a variety of PvP modes.” Leaked footage that is no longer available showed that while one mode appeared to be similar to a battle royale structure, another showed a capture-and-defend mode similar to something found in Overwatch.

As mentioned above, the ceased development of Project Q comes just a week after a significant scaleback process was announced by Ubisoft. In a letter to investors, the company announced it would be canceling three unannounced projects, delaying the launch of Skull & Bones yet again, and restructuring to reduce costs. This move came as a result of “worsening economic conditions” as well as the financial underperformance of both Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope and Just Dance 2023.

Ubisoft still plans to release Assassin’s Creed Mirage, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, and Skull and Bones during the 2023-2024 window, along with some other unannounced premium and free-to-play titles.