Ubisoft unveils 05-06 line-up

Ubisoft plans to release four Xbox 2, five PSP and three Nintendo DS titles within the next 12 months, the publisher revealed today as part of its latest financial statement.

Other titles due out over the course of Ubi's 2005-2006 fiscal year - which ends 31st March 2006 - include a new Brothers In Arms game to complement the one Gearbox Software recently finished, new Prince of Persia, Splinter Cell and Ghost Recon titles, and a brand new first-person shooter for a next-generation format (presumably Xbox 2) provisionally titled Killing Day. Other next-gen prospects include a new Splinter Cell game.

In a detailed rundown of its 32-strong fiscal 2005-2006 line-up, Ubi began by revealing that Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Lockdown - more commonly known as Rainbow Six 4 - will now be released sometime between the beginning of April and the end of September.

Joining it on the shelves in that six-month window will be increasingly overdue console first-person shooter Far Cry Instincts (developed by Ubisoft Montreal and based on Crytek's successful PC Far Cry), the Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith portable titles (again by Ubi Montreal - for GBA, DS and PSP) and urban street racing title 187 Ride or Die (which is presumably the new name for Notorious: Die to Drive, which Ubi announced last E3 - something we're trying to confirm at the moment)

Moving closer to Christmas, Ubi says that the new Brothers In Arms title will be released just in time - although it doesn't specify who's working on it - while its adaptation of Peter Jackson's King Kong will be one of the foremost holiday blockbusters in the publisher's view. The latter is due out on 14th December according to Ubi's previous comments on the subject, and will be released on Nintendo DS and PSP in addition to major consoles and PC. Ubi's also planning another Prince of Persia title, DS and PSP versions of last year's Warrior Within, and another Ghost Recon for current and next-generation consoles.

After that we start to talk about Killing Day (working title), which is a next-generation first-person shooter through which "Ubisoft plans to demonstrate once again its technological lead and highlight the capabilities of new consoles". We're anticipating its appearance on Xbox 2 first, since, er, that'll be the only next-generation format available before 31st March 2006, unless someone springs a real surprise at E3, but we wouldn't be surprised to see next-gen ports of the game later on in calendar 2006.

Ubisoft also revealed that it's working on a new basketball game (based on the "And 1" license, apparently) and two new titles using the Might & Magic brand it picked up from the wreck of 3DO. Oh, and there's Splinter Cell 4 to look forward to on current and next-generation formats, too.

You should be able to find a rundown of its financial status on GamesIndustry.biz shortly.