Following a digital presentation, we had the opportunity to chat with Riders Republic’s game director Arnaud Ragot. Ragot had already worked in the same role on 2016’s Steep, with the surprising Ubisoft Annecy project setting a new standard for winter sports simulation.

In a way, Riders Republic feels like a punk-fueled Steep spiritual reboot, adding lots of light-hearted fun to its predecessor’s more serious formula. We asked the game director about battle royale — a genre that Ubisoft is seemingly looking into with this new venture — cross-play challenges, single-player content, free-to-play, and more. 

This interview has been edited for clarity.