Ubisoft have reportedly cancelled an unannounced life simulation game dubbed Alterra, which devs had spent nearly three years weaving into something that combines aspects of Animal Crossing with Minecraft’s voxel building. The cancellation reportedly hasn’t resulted in any immediate layoffs.
According to Insider Gaming, devs working on Alterra were informed of its canning on Tuesday, April 21st. They’ve since been made available to be transferred over to work on other games Ubisoft have in the works, with Insider Gaming noting that it’s unclear how unnamed support studios which had been working on Alterra might be affected.
Asked about the report by IGN, a Ubisoft spokesperson didn’t address Alterra directly, but did say the following:
As part of our portfolio management approach and evolving creative house-led model, we continuously assess projects at every stage of development to ensure alignment with our strategic priorities, quality ambitions, and long-term market potential. Projects that no longer meet these expectations may be discontinued.
According to Insider Gaming’s report, Alterra was being headed up at Ubisoft Montreal by Patrick Redding and lead producer Fabien Lhéraud. The former was Gotham Knights’ creative director, having previously helmed the campaign of 2013’s Splinter Cell: Blacklist and been story designer on Far Cry 2.
Alterra’s reported cancellation follows a bevy of cuts and shutterings at Ubisoft in the early months of this year. Last month, long-time Tom Clancy studio Red Storm were told they’d no longer be making games, with 105 staff laid off as a result.
Prior to that, the Prince of Persia: Sands of Time remake and five other games were cancelled by Ubisoft in January, with that and job cuts in the same month triggering strikes.








