New Ghost Recon Confirmed, Closed Tests Coming Soon

Seven years after Breakpoint and four years after the cancellation of Ghost Recon: Frontline, Ubisoft has finally confirmed what fans have been waiting for: a new Ghost Recon game is in active development, and closed tests are coming.

During today's Ghost Recon 25th Anniversary stream, live producer Irina-Gabriela Popa delivered the announcement alongside a massive free update for Ghost Recon Wildlands. Her exact words:

"For the past few years, we've been building the next chapter of Ghost Recon. I'm really excited to share with you that now we're ready to put it to the test, because we want to deliver a fun, fresh experience that stays true to everything that defines Ghost Recon: tactical action, large scale operations, credible military storytelling, and of course, the Ghost Unit."

Fans can sign up through Ghost Recon's Insider Program to get early access to closed tests. Ubisoft says it will use the feedback from those sessions to optimize and balance the game before a wider release. No specific dates for the first test have been given, but the phrasing "ready to put it to the test" suggests it won't be a long wait.

This lines up with what Ubisoft signalled last month when it described its content pipeline for its 2027-2028 and 2028-2029 fiscal years as "significantly bigger" than its current slate, name-dropping Ghost Recon alongside Assassin's Creed and Far Cry. I'm glad they're not just teasing this as a vague future project. If the game is far enough along for public testing, we're likely looking at something playable within months, not years.

Wildlands Gets the Anniversary Treatment

The new game announcement came wrapped inside a broader 25th anniversary celebration centred on Ghost Recon Wildlands, the 2017 entry that Ubisoft is clearly treating as the series' crown jewel over 2019's Breakpoint. A free update called Last Rites is available now on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC, adding 4K and 60fps support on current-gen consoles, a new story arc with six missions featuring a masked villain called La Llorona, and hundreds of previously unobtainable customization items. The update also reinstates the Predator crossover mission that was removed in December 2020 when Ubisoft's licensing deal expired.

On top of that, Ubisoft is giving away Ghost Recon: Future Soldier for free on PC through the Ubisoft Connect store until August 13. The 2012 title, which holds a 79 on Metacritic, is yours to keep permanently. Wildlands and Breakpoint are also free to play on consoles and PC until August 10, though that's a temporary trial rather than a permanent claim. Sales of up to 95% off are running across the full Ghost Recon catalogue on Xbox, PlayStation, Ubisoft Connect, and Steam.

The decision to build the anniversary around Wildlands rather than Breakpoint says a lot. Breakpoint launched to mixed reviews and struggled to find its identity, leaning into looter-shooter mechanics that clashed with what Ghost Recon fans actually wanted. Wildlands, with its open-world Bolivia and four-player co-op, remains the template most players point to when they talk about what the series should be. Pouring a free update into a nine-year-old game instead of the more recent sequel is Ubisoft quietly acknowledging which direction worked.

I'm cautiously fired up about this. Ghost Recon occupies a space in the tactical shooter genre that nobody else is really filling right now, and Ubisoft's invitation to players into the development process early suggests they've learned something from Breakpoint's rocky reception. The closed test approach has worked well for other studios, and it's a smart move for a franchise that needs to rebuild trust. Whether the new game leans back toward Wildlands' open-world sandbox or tries something different entirely, getting real player feedback before launch is the right call. No dates yet for the first test, but sign-ups through the Insider Program are open now.