The action sports game Riders Republic is out September 2, Ubisoft announced during its E3 conference. It’ll land (maybe even stomp, one hopes) on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC.
Riders Republic is a multiplayer mountain sports game (think: skiing, snowboarding, mountain biking) that was first announced last year during Ubisoft’s second summer showcase, popping up in the final moments as that event’s “Oh, but one more thing!” reveal. Initially planned for February 25, 2021, Ubisoft delayed the game in January, writing that the “additional time will allow our passionate team to deliver the best fun fuelled experience to our players.” Ubisoft did not announce a specific release date at the time.
Though not a true Steep sequel, Riders Republic is, for all intents and purposes, a follow-up to 2016’s terrific snowsports game. Both are developed by Ubisoft Annecy. Both are action sports games that put skiing and snowboarding front and centre. Both involve team-ups with RedBull and the X-Games. Unlike most games in the genre, Steep championed realism over spectacle. You’d way more likely throw a cork 10 than a triple misty 1800º. Based on early footage, Riders Republic seems to follow that trail, if a touch more above-and-beyond. Some of the grinds in the following trailer, for instance, could only be described as “bananas.”
But there are some notable deviations. Sadly, the paraglider does not appear to be an option in Riders Republic, though you can still wingsuit. Steep was set in the European Alps, allowing you to drop lines from the summits of iconic behemoths like Mont Blanc and the freakin’ Matterhorn. (Later expansions brought you to other famous snowsports destinations, like northern Japan.) Riders Republic takes place stateside, featuring a wide swath of locations like Yosemite, Canyonlands National Park, Sequoia Park, and the holy site of gnar-shredding, Mammoth Mountain.
Crucially, Riders Republic has a significant multiplayer component. Ubisoft says sessions can feature up to 50 players, and says the following modes will be playable:
- Competitive races and trick challenges, all of which are playable competitively, cooperatively, or solo.
- Mass Starts, races that feature 50 or more players.
- Community Jams, or events that appear randomly and feature 50 players or more.
- Multiplayer arenas that includes six-vs.-six score challenges.
- Online Cups, described as “for the very best only,” competing for leaderboard rankings.
There’s an apparent hub area, too, where players can “share creations.” Hey, friends who slay together stay together.
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