This Week at Ubisoft: The Crew Motorfest Reveals New Playlists, Star Wars™ Outlaws Comes to San Diego Comic-Con

This week at Ubisoft, The Crew Motorfest showed off the Porsche 911, electric supercars, and the island of O'ahu in new Playlists as its closed beta kicks off today; Star Wars™ Outlaws announced a July 22 panel for San Diego Comic-Con 2023; For Honor announced its new Hero, a free week, and a new Performance Mode; Brawlhalla's Combat Evolved Epic Crossover went live; and Hungry Shark kicked off celebrations for Shark Week and Meg 2: The Trench. Check it all out and more in this week's roundup of Ubisoft News.

The Crew Motorfest Reveals New Porsche Playlist and Electric Supercars as Closed Beta Begins

The Crew Motorfest hosted a preview event ahead of its Closed Beta, giving players a chance to explore the Hawaiian island of O'ahu and take a deep dive into the game's Playlists. These Playlists are a series of short, themed campaigns that each tell a story about a specific type of car, brand, or facet of car culture, and will give players a loaner vehicle for each race. Ubisoft News explored three unique Playlists during this event: 911 Legacy: A Porsche Story, where players drive different Porsche 911 models from different decades; Electric Odyssey, which highlights electric supercars; and Hawaii Scenic Tour, where a local will talk to you about O'ahu's culture and landmarks.

The Crew Motorfest Closed Beta is live now through July 23 and you can get access through Twitch Drops on eligible channels, including twitch.tv/ubisoft.

Star Wars Outlaws™ at San Diego Comic-Con 2023: Live Panel and Booth Details

Star Wars Outlaws™ will be part of San Diego Comic-Con 2023, and will host a live panel on July 22 at 5:15PM PST featuring several of the game's developers. The panel will share more about the open-world game and the galaxy of opportunity that awaits players. Additionally, Star Wars Outlaws™ will have a booth on the show floor from July 19-23, where attendees can take advantage of poster giveaways and a unique photo opportunity.

For Honor Launches New Ocelotl Hero, Performance Mode, and Free Week on July 27

For Honor's newest Hero, the Ocelotl, is an Aztec-inspired warrior who dual-wields a Macuahuitl club and Tepoztopilli spear in combat. In Heathmoor's narrative, he's a hunter named Mixacoatl who is on a mission of vengeance against the Conquistador Vela, and will be an Outlander alongside the Pirate, Medjay, and Afeera. July 27 also marks the introduction of Performance Mode to the console versions of the game, and the start of For Honor's free week. Anyone who buys the game during or after the free week will have all their progression and unlocked Heroes carry over to the full version.

Announcing Invincible: Guarding the Globe

Invincible: Guarding the Globe, a free-to-play idle RPG, is coming soon for mobile devices. The game is set in the same Invincible universe as the Prime Video series and Skybound comic books, and will feature an original storyline and superpowered multi-battle action. You'll pick five heroes that you've recruited to the Global Defense Agency for each battle, choosing fighters for their unique skills best suited for the mission at hand. As you progress through the story, you'll be able to recruit new heroes to your roster, and will earn equippable items that can boost powers and stats to give them an extra edge in battle.

Brawlhalla: Combat Evolved Epic Crossover Live Now

Brawlhalla's latest Epic Crossover, Combat Evolved, is live now, bringing two new fighters to the roster. The Master Chief wields the SPNKr Rocket Launcher and Magnum Pistols, while the Arbiter uses a Fuel Rod Cannon and Energy Sword. Combat Evolved also introduces the Oddbrawl game mode, as well as a Banshee Sidekick, Mongoose Buddy Emote, Halo Map, and themed weapon skins. Any player who logs in between July 12 and August 2 will also receive a free "Spartan" title.

Hungry Shark Partners With Shark Week and Warner Bros. Pictures' Meg 2: The Trench

Dive into Hungry Shark World and Hungry Shark Evolution as they celebrate Discovery's Shark Week and Warner Bros. Pictures' Meg 2: The Trench. During these events, players will be able to bedeck their sharks with themed accessories like the Shark Week flag, hat, and necklace; see in-game billboards; and partake in new limited-time game modes. Plus, select sharks will have their stats boosted in honor of these fin-tastic celebrations.

Ubisoft+ Spotlight - Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun

(Editorial note: This is a series of quick weekly highlights written by Ubisoft News team writers that feature games available with a Ubisoft+ subscription. We hope you'll enjoy reminiscing with us, or perhaps discover something new.)

Brittany Spurlin, Writer/Editor: Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun brings you into Japan during the Edo period, where the Shogun has ushered in peace and unification after years of war. However, when a warlord known as Kage-sama threatens that hard-earned peace, the Shogun turns to the samurai Oshiro Mugen to track him down, reveal his true identity, and stop the violence once and for all. As Mugen, you'll command a tactical team of five, using each character's abilities to complete each mission.

As a samurai, Mugen can kill up to three enemies at a time; the ninja Hayato can take out a guard with his sword, or from a distance with his shuriken; Aiko uses her skills as a geisha to move around unnoticed, or distract enemies; the thief Yuki can lay deadly traps or lure guards from their posts with her flute; and Takuma can use his scoped rifle to take out enemies from a distance.

Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun is a tactical stealth game at heart, and its gameplay emphasizes not getting caught or spotted - some of your missions will focus solely on sneaking into an enemy camp undetected so you can gather intel by listening in on conversations. The characters, in addition to their special abilities, also have specific noise levels you must take into account, which range from the near-silence of Hayato's movements to the loud banging Takuma's wooden leg makes when he moves (there's a reason you want this sharpshooter at a distance). Each fighter's ability to move silently (or not) adds an extra dimension to carrying out missions with deadly precision.

Playing with each character's abilities and using their actions to build on one another is part of what keeps the game so fun and refreshing. Want Mugen to lure a guard out with a bottle of sake, forcing the enemy to walk directly onto one of Yuki's traps? Go for it! Or, you can have Aiko throw sneezing powder in the guard's face, distracting him and limiting his vision enough for the rest of your team to slip past unnoticed. There are many possibilities for ability combos, but as you make your plan, it's critical to keep your mission objective in mind in order to make the most efficient plan of attack possible.

You can play Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun today with a Ubisoft+ subscription.

Game Updates

Rainbow Six Siege deployed patch Y8S2.3 on July 11, bringing Operator balancing and user experience improvements, as well as bug fixes.

• Nøkk's HEL gadget ability no longer reduces movement sounds

• Oryx's hatch climb speed increased by 30%

• The Battle Pass map no longer flashes on screen when going to the Progress section

• Missing unlimited ammo in Snipers Arcade bug is fixed

In addition to the Master Chief and the Arbiter, Brawlhalla's Combat Evolved also implemented Red Raptor's first round of balancing adjustments as well as bug fixes for the game.

• Red Raptor available for official tournaments

• Increased Red Raptor's Neutral Orb recover time

• Fixed an issue where animated weapons didn't play their entire animation

• Weapon skins no longer look blurry