Ghost Recon Is Officially Back: Ubisoft Confirms a New Game and Drops a Huge Free Wildlands Update

Ghost Recon has been quiet for a very long time. Breakpoint landed in October 2019, stumbled hard, and then the series simply went dark while Ubisoft cycled through Assassin's Creed, Rainbow Six and everything else in its catalog. On August 6, the franchise's 25th anniversary, that silence finally ended.

In a dedicated anniversary showcase, Ubisoft confirmed that the next mainline Ghost Recon game is in development, saying "we've been building the next chapter of Ghost Recon" for the past few years. There is no title, no release window and no footage yet, but there is something more concrete than a teaser: an Insider Program you can register for today, which grants early access to closed playtests of the new game. And to make the waiting easier, Wildlands, the 2017 entry most fans consider the series' high point, just received one of the biggest free updates of its life.

Video: Ubisoft on YouTube

Last Rites turns Wildlands into a darker game

The update, called Last Rites and built by Ubisoft Bordeaux, is available now as a free download. Its centerpiece is a new story driven mission set in a more oppressive corner of Bolivia, where the Ghosts hunt La Llorona, the masked leader of a fanatical cult called Los Penitentes. Creative director Olivier Leonardi describes her as a figure reclaiming control through vengeance, and the key art alone makes it clear this is a moodier tone than the base game ever attempted.

The technical side matters just as much. Wildlands now runs at 4K with a 60fps performance mode on PS5 and Xbox Series X and S, nine years after its original release. The update also adds Ghost Parameters, a set of toggles for instant death, ammo management and weapon loadouts, plus session settings for weather, time of day, enemy patrols and friendly fire in co-op, along with deeper HUD customization. The fan favorite Predator mission is back after years of absence, hundreds of cosmetics have been unlocked for everyone, and the Ghost War PvP classes are now free.

A revival with a test you can join

The pattern here is familiar. Ubisoft has been leaning hard on its back catalog lately, and after Black Flag Resynced sold two million copies in a day, reviving a beloved older game as the runway for a new one looks like deliberate strategy rather than coincidence. The anniversary offers push in the same direction: Wildlands and Breakpoint are free to try through August 10, Future Soldier is free to claim and keep on Ubisoft Connect for PC until August 13, and the whole franchise is discounted by up to 95 percent.

Our honest take: this is the right way to bring a series back. Wildlands still has a devoted audience, and shipping it a genuinely substantial free update builds far more goodwill than a logo reveal would have. The lack of any date or footage for the new game tells us it is early, and after Breakpoint's launch Ubisoft clearly wants player feedback baked in from the start, which is exactly what the Insider Program is for. Temper your expectations on timing, enjoy the free weekend, and keep the anniversary giveaway in mind before August 13.