Ubisoft Hard at Work on New Driver Installment

Kris Erickson • Jun 19, 2008 • Comments ()

The European-based developer bought the rights to the Driver license last year from failing publisher Atari, whose Parallel Lines had failed to attract a broad enough audience to revive the series. Considering that Ubisoft was willing to pay for not only the rights, but the entire development studio responsible for the game, we expect great things from the unnamed upcoming project.

The series has a venerable history, and Ubisoft have quite the big shoes to fill if they hope to restore the franchise to its original flavor. You Are The Wheelman, released on the PS1 in 1999, set a whole new standard for open-world racing games, and introduced the world to the simple joy of outrunning the cops in the streets of San Francisco. By the time that Parallel Lines was released in 2007, the series had become bogged down in GTA-style story missions and *gasp* on-foot gunplay.

During a recent tour of the development studio by BBC cameramen, we caught some tantalizing shots of the game in early development (pictured below). While it is not much to look at yet, we hope that Ubisoft Reflections can deliver a knockout return to form for the game on current console hardware.