now-meaningless Tom Clancy branding, with Frontline being revealed to a particularly unsatisfied fanbase.
In the mid-to-late 2000s, Ghost Recon was firmly atop the tactical shooter genre. The series was known for its methodical, militaristic gameplay. Ghost Recon games frequently promoted tactical, squad-based gameplay, giving players command of their AI teammates in a variety of situations. More recent titles have embraced open world gameplay with varying success, but the dedicated Ghost Recon community is less than impressed with the announcement of Frontline.
Ghost Recon Frontline is a free-to-play battle royale style multiplayer game. Players will a squad, enter the large map known as Drakemoor Island, acquire loot, retrieve intel, and complete other objectives before attempting to survive through extraction. The reception to Frontline's announcement has, at least thus far, been overwhelmingly negative. The game's Full Announcement Video on Ubisoft North America's YouTube channel has nearly six times more dislikes than likes, as of the time of writing. As succinctly captured by Olanovski on Twitter, the official GhostRecon subreddit has been lambasting Frontline since it was announced.
Frontline Is Antithetical To Ghost Recon
Adding multiplayer to the Ghost Recon franchise can be done in a compelling way, as long as the spirit of the games remain intact. Wildlands, for instance, let players participate in the campaign cooperatively, and other entries have tried their hand at competitive matches. For longtime fans of the series, the highlight has always been the tactical gameplay in the campaigns. Ghost Recon Frontline seems to be everything but that. Even the reveal trailer doesn't show off any particularly tactical gameplay, with a montage of clips with characters running and gunning through open fields.
The gameplay that made Ghost Recon popular simply doesn't translate to Frontline's largescale PvP. Ubisoft has seemingly been left out of the battle royale gold mine, and is content to put the name of a beloved IP on a multiplayer game in an attempt to cash in on the battle royale phenomenon. The only thing that even connects Frontline to Ghost Recon is the fact that it's in the title. Twisting the franchise's branding into something its not is a huge red flag indicating Ghost Recon Frontline may not be able to stand on its own, and is relying name recognition to attract a player base.
Sources: GhostRecon/Reddit, Olanovski/Twitter, Ubisoft North America/YouTube
