Another month, another disappointing entry in Ubisoft’s Tom Clancy franchise has been revealed. This time, it’s Ghost Recon Frontline – a new battle royale game in the Ghost Recon series. That’s right, yet another battle royale that nobody asked for. And it’s safe to say that Ghost Recon fans are understandably p*ssed about it.
What is Ghost Recon Frontline?
Ghost Recon Frontline is a “free-to-play, tactical-action, massive PVP shooter”. It was announced on 5th October 2021 and is being developed by Ubisoft Bucharest. It promises “an advanced class system and large set of tactical support tools allowing for complete freedom in strategic gameplay, with multiple ways to outsmart enemy teams and win every fight.”
Featuring 100 players per game split into squads of three, Ghost Recon Frontline is Ubisoft’s latest attempt at a battle royale game. Moving away from the slower paced, third person tactical shooters that were past Ghost Recon games. Instead, Frontline offers fast, first person PVP action. And the fans are NOT here for it.
Why are fans disappointed?
If you take a look at any upload of the Ghost Recon Frontline announcement video on YouTube, you’ll notice the overwhelming majority of dislikes it has. For instance, on Ubisoft’s main channel it has 4.8K likes to 17K dislikes at the time of writing. And the comments echo that negative sentiment loud and clear.
Fans are frustrated because Frontline represents another step further away from what Tom Clancy games used to be all about. Military realism. Ghost Recon isn’t Call of Duty. And its fans don’t want it to be.
But that’s not the only reason they’re angry. It’s also because Frontline is another attempt by Ubisoft to cash in on a popular genre instead of releasing new entries in their other long-dormant series like Splinter Cell.
Fans were clamouring for Ghost Recon to go back to its roots and embrace its realistic, tactical heritage. Similarly, they wanted to see Sam Fisher back in action in a new Splinter Cell. But so far this year, they’ve gotten Tom Clancy’s XDefiant – which looks pretty awful – and now Ghost Recon Frontline, which has only made things worse.
Ghost Recon Frontline Release Date
Ubisoft are yet to confirm a release date for Ghost Recon Frontline. However, you can sign up now to play-test the game prior to release.
I’m not saying Ghost Recon Frontline will be bad. It could turn out to be a fun battle royale. But it won’t be the Ghost Recon fans want. And for that reason, it seems doomed to fail.
It’s a shame Ubisoft seem so hellbent on cashing in on popular genres that they can’t see that the market is already hugely oversaturated. There’s plenty of quality battle royale games to choose from. So, why not focus on what they do have. A lucrative niche with a loyal set of fans who feel they’ve been continually ignored.
How do you feel about Ghost Recon Frontline battle royale? Let us know in the comment section below and don’t forget to check out our other gaming articles…
