Ubisoft Forward fueled the E3 2021 weekend excitement by delivering a packed conference with one hell of a finale, and we’re taking Ubisoft back to school by grading each announcement.

The French publisher unpacked a host of new content for its popular IPs, including Far Cry 6 and Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, and dropped a few surprises that promised compelling projects for the future - we can’t wait to explore the lush expanse of Pandora in the new Avatar game.

Despite Ubisoft swerving a couple of fan favorites, like Beyond Good and Evil 2 and Splinter Cell, the publisher still put on an entertaining show and here’s how we graded each reveal.

Rainbow Six Extraction - Release Date and Gameplay Trailer

Extraction was a strong start to the conference, opening with an exhilarating cinematic trailer to show off the alien-infested chapter with some familiar Siege operatives.

  • A September 16 release date was revealed.
  • A 7-minute ‘Gameplay Deep Dive’ trailer was also featured, which slowed the pace but served fans with a lengthy treat.
  • New infiltration missions, gadgets, and gooey, bulbous aliens were included in the trailer, adding to the Outbreak Mode spin-off’s originality.

Grade B

Rocksmith+ - Ubisoft’s New Subscription Service

Lead producer Arthur Von Nagel introduced Ubisoft’s new subscription service for learner and veteran guitarists and bassists.

  • The program’s innovative step to enhance the learning process is impressive, but left most viewers a little underwhelmed after Extraction’s strong start.
  • The expansive list of catalogued songs at launch sounds inviting, but the service’s success will only be determined at launch.

Grade C

Riders Republic - Release Date and Gameplay Trailer

The fun, brightly-colored trailer for Riders Republic featured fast-paced sequences of skiing, snowboarding and flying.

  • A release date of September 2 was announced which was welcomed after the game’s pandemic delay.
  • The multiplayer functionality served as one of the trailer's talking points, which supports up to 50 players.

Grade B

Rainbow Six Siege - New Thunderbird Animated Trailer

The new operative Thunderbird received a stylish animated trailer to welcome the defender to the Siege roster.

  • Crossplay and cross-progression was announced for PC, Amazon Luna, and Stadia to arrive on June 30, but sadly, console players will have to wait until “early 2022”. 

PC players will only be able to play with Amazon Luna and Stadia players, which addresses the elephant in the room of differing skill levels between keyboard and console players.

Grade D

Watch Dogs: Legion - Bloodline DLC

The aptly titled Bloodline DLC reintroduces hacker Aiden Pearce and Watch Dogs 2 character Wrench, as the former connects with his nephew Jackson .

  • The Bloodline expansion was given the release date of July 6.
  • The trailer sat well with fans of the franchise, but didn’t carry as much excitement as Legion’s initial gameplay reveal in 2019.

Grade C

Far Cry 6 - New Cutscene and Season Pass Trailer

A majority of the Far Cry 6 content was revealed a few weeks ago, but we can't complain about seeing more of Giancarlo Esposito.

  • We saw a brutal, cinematic cutscene with Dani Rojas, and Antón and Diego Castillo.
  • Spin-off Blood Dragon will also be included in the season pass for free.

Grade B

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla - Discovery Tour, The Siege of Paris, Second Year DLC Tease

A new Assassin’s Creed game was not announced (wishful thinking), but there were three highlights in Valhalla's spot.

  • Valhalla will be getting a Viking Age Discovery Tour, continuing the franchise’s popular combat-free, educational mode.
  • We also got another look at the upcoming The Siege of Paris DLC. No release date was given but it will arrive this summer.
  • More post-launch content was revealed to continue well into the game’s second year, which is exactly what players wanted to hear.

Grade B

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora - First Look Trailer

Updates surrounding this game had gone radio silent, but we finally got a look at Ubisoft’s Avatar game - revealed as the conference’s finale.

  • The title, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, was confirmed.
  • A release window of 2022 was also announced.
  • The stunning array of breathtaking landscapes, the flora and fauna, as well as the unique creatures and Na’vi warriors left a majority of gamers mesmerized.
  • Cross-platform was revealed, launching on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC, Stadia and Amazon Luna.

While Avatar seems to be a first-person game, we hope that third-person mode will be included so we can see our flowing locks whilst tree-hopping.

Grade A