Ubisoft's continued efforts to expand its online multiplayer offerings are well documented. Rainbow Six Siege is easily Ubisoft's most successful endeavor, but other projects including Rainbow Six Extraction, Riders Republic, and Hyper Scape are recent releases with less certain results. The latest effort from Ubisoft has now been announced. Project Q is described as a third-person battle arena with clear inspiration from Fortnite. Project Q was discovered due to leaked gameplay footage, with Ubisoft then officially announcing the game.A closed test, perhaps best described as an alpha due to its early development status, recently sent out invites describing Project Q as an "innovative and modern PvP battle arena game." The test itself includes two game modes. Showdown is a small-scale battle arena experience featuring four teams with two players each. The last team standing wins. The second game mode is Battle Zone, in which two teams of four players battle for control points, not unlike Overwatch's Control mode. The gameplay of Project Q can be described as a mix of Fortnite's third-person shooting and a mix of unique mechanics and ideas from other online multiplayer games. Players take on the role of a customizable character with various skins similar in visuals and general gameplay to Fortnite, replete with third-person view, jumping, and movement. They'll then use a mixture of shooting, melee attacks, and curious tricks to try and defeat their enemies. While Project Q is clearly influenced by Fortnite, it is explicitly not a battle royale.
Instead of picking up weapons and loot, gamers choose three "Wonders" from a collection they unlock piece by piece through playing. Each Wonder in the collection has a unique use, split into types including Damage, Control, Support, and Mobility. Every Wonder in the collection, including Damage items like guns and melee weapons, has a cooldown. Players will have to strategically use their Wonders to maximize their effectiveness when off cooldown, all while surviving, too.
As noted, Project Q is described as being early in development, and the footage makes that very clear. The game runs, but its UI is thrown together and gameplay could clearly use some iterating. That said, Ubisoft starting a closed test shows that considerable progress has been made. That's likely why Ubisoft felt comfortable officially announcing Project Q following the leak. A more robust unveiling could eventually come during a Ubisoft event this summer, with further testing to follow. Ubisoft has opened up registration to those who'd like to participate.
Funnily enough, this isn't the first time that Project Q has been heard of. The infamous Nvidia GeForce Now included a mention of Project Q. Whether Project Q will be more successful than Ubisoft's other recent online multiplayer games is perhaps the bigger question.
Project Q is in development.
Source: VideoGamesChronicle