Ubisoft Has Good News for Driver Fans

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Ubisoft Has Good News for Driver Fans

Highlights

  • Ubisoft is actively working on multiple Driver projects.
  • The company avoided outright confirming that any of these mysterious upcoming projects are games.
  • Driver fans have been waiting for a new mainline entry in the franchise since the early 2010s.

As a long-time fan of the Driver series, I’ve been eagerly awaiting any news regarding new projects in the franchise. After all, it’s been over a decade since we last saw a mainline entry with Driver: San Francisco. Ubisoft’s recent announcement that they’re “actively working on other exciting projects” based on the classic franchise has me hopeful that we might finally see a new game.

Several “Driver” gaming projects are being developed by Ubisoft as of now, according to their recent announcement. This disclosure is certain to bring joy to the devoted fan base of this franchise, who have longed for a fresh installment in the mainline “Driver” series since more than a decade has passed.

Since September 2011, there have been only two major releases in the “Driver” series. The most recent addition was “Driver: San Francisco,” which came out along with a handheld spin-off titled “Driver: Renegade 3D.” Following this, a free-to-play mobile game called “Driver: Speedboat Paradise” was introduced on Android and iOS devices in late 2014. However, it has since been taken down from the digital marketplaces. Given these developments, many fans have believed that “Driver” is yet another neglected franchise by Ubisoft.

Ubisoft Teases ‘Exciting’ Driver Projects

The publisher is actively engaged in creating new projects based on the classic “Driver” franchise, according to Game File’s Stephen Totilo, who spoke with the company. Although this update may spark optimism among fans hoping for a new installment in the series, Ubisoft’s statement did not explicitly confirm that work has begun on a new “Driver” game.

Binge’s Live-Action Driver Series Is Not Happening

One of these enigmatic projects from Ubisoft may not actually be a game, as hinted by Ubisoft’s past attempts to utilize the Driver IP for non-gaming purposes. In 2021, they announced a new project in this vein: a live-action Driver series intended for production with streaming service Binge. Positioned as “the future of gaming entertainment,” Binge was slated to debut without a subscription fee in 2022. However, the platform’s launch has been delayed, and Ubisoft subsequently abandoned plans for a live-action Driver adaptation in collaboration with Binge (according to Totilo’s report, quoting a company representative).

It is believed that collaboration on projects related to Ubisoft’s “Driver” series protagonist, John Tanner, through Hotrod Tanner LLC, came to an end no later than January 2024. This conclusion stems from the fact that Ubisoft dissolved Hotrod Tanner LLC, one of its US video production subsidiaries with a nod to the “Driver” series character in its name, as confirmed in their most recent Universal Registration Document (URD) released in late June 2024.

Before the unsuccessful attempt to create a TV show based on “Driver,” Ubisoft had previously tried to transform the video game into a live-action film. This collaboration with production company Impact Pictures initially planned for a $48 million budget. However, a waterfront revitalization project in Toronto, set to begin in January 2007 and intended as the location for principal photography, unexpectedly put the project on hold indefinitely. Ultimately, this halt led to its complete abandonment.

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2024-07-13 17:43