A recent fad that’s hit video game developers lately is the ability to allow players to create their own video games using tools provided by another title. Games such as Sony’s “Dreams” and Nintendo’s upcoming Game Builder Garage appear to also be the inspiration for the Adibou trademark recently filed by Ubisoft.
Though we have no idea of exactly what the name means or what it will be used for, the name “Adibou” does have a history. Adibou was originally a children’s education game that first released in 1991, and the name has since been used in multiple trademark filings by Ubisoft.
The logo shown in the trademark doesn’t appear to match the same kind of subject matter as a children’s game, either, being composed of official-looking block letters rather than anything that could be used for a kid’s game. The name could even be referring to a new game engine that Ubisoft might be working on that hasn’t been announced yet.
If the Adibou trademark does refer to the original children’s series, it would be a big return from a game series that hasn’t seen any action in 11 years, since the last game released in 2009. If it’s a new game development game a la Dreams and Game Builder Garage, Ubisoft may be announcing it sometime this year if they’ve gotten the trademark.
If it’s a new game engine instead, who knows what it might be replacing. Ubisoft has multiple different engines that they develop games on, ranging from the tried and true AnvilNext that they use for Assassin’s Creed games to the Snowdrop engine that was first revealed in 2013.
It’s only natural for companies to want to change or upgrade engines as time goes on, but until Ubisoft actually elaborates on Adibou (if they do), all we can really do is guess.