Ubisoft’s E3 press conference kicked off with its own very exciting announcement this year, as the company unveiled a sequel to their surprise hit RPG, South Park: The Stick of Truth. The new game is called South Park: The Fractured But Whole, and yes, that’s meant to sound as you think it does upon saying the title aloud.
Unlike the previous game, which was developed by Obsidian Entertainment, South Park: The Fractured But Whole is being put together by Ubisoft’s own San Francisco studio. Ubisoft is once again working with South Park creators, Matt Stone and Trey Parker, who helped to present the game at Ubisoft’s E3 conference, alongside returning host, Aisha Tyler.
As with South Park: The Stick of Truth before it, South Park: The Fractured But Whole will feature turn-based combat, and once again allow players to customize a ‘new kid’ hero to play as. The game will be ditching its fantasy theme however, instead replacing it with a superhero theme, as Cartman’s super alter-ego, ‘The Coon’ leads his posse against the forces of evil again, or at least the forces that annoy him in the local town of South Park! Naturally, Matt Stone and Trey Parker will be lending their voiceover talents to the game, along with their writing expertise.
The very existence of South Park: The Fractured But Whole proves that Ubisoft is turning the subseries of South Park RPG’s into a dedicated game franchise for their portfolio, and that’s wonderful news! Originally, South Park: The Stick of Truth was conceived by Obsidian Entertainment after Matt Stone and Trey Parker contacted them about an idea for a South Park RPG, with publisher, THQ being signed to the project afterward, leaving THQ retaining the potential franchise rights as part of the deal. After THQ declared bankruptcy in January of 2013 however, South Park: The Stick of Truth’s publishing and franchise rights went up for grabs, with Ubisoft purchasing them, and working with Obsidian Entertainment to finish the game, which went on to become one of the most beloved games of last year, despite primarily being made for the last-gen Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, aside from PC.
South Park: The Fractured But Whole will instead release for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The game currently has no release date, or even a release window, but that means we won’t be seeing it this year. It will likely release next year, or at worst, in 2017.
Keep imagining Eggplante for all news and updates on the South Park RPG’s.