Just Dance 2023 Edition is a 2022 dance rhythm game developed and published by Ubisoft. It was unveiled on September 10, 2022 during the Ubisoft Forward September 2022 web presentation as the fourteenth main installment of the series. It marks a new release form for the series, switching to a live service format with annual downloadable content song packs.[1][2] The game was released on November 22, 2022, for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.[3] It was also planned for release on Stadia, but that port of the game was cancelled due to the service's shutdown on January 18, 2023.[4]
As with the previous installments of the franchise, players must mimic the on-screen coach’s choreography to a chosen song using the game's associated smartphone app (Nintendo Switch players have the option to use the console's Joy-Con controllers). This installment is not released for Xbox One and PlayStation 4, thereby dropping support for Kinect, PlayStation Camera, and PlayStation Move.[5]
Features
User interface of Just Dance 2023 Edition
The game features an updated and redesigned user interface, which emulates those seen on streaming services, such as Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, Max, Paramount+ and Peacock, all within a single Just Dance hub, serving as the home for the game and future installments of the series.[6] It is also the first Just Dance title to be developed using the Unity engine, as opposed to Ubisoft's in-house UbiArt Framework which had been in use since Just Dance 2014.[7] A new online multiplayer feature is added, where up to six players can join a private group with cross-play support at launch, with the Xbox Series X/S version later being supported.[8] Dancer cards, an in-game tool to express what the player was doing in-game, received a major overhaul, with avatars now being pictures of the coaches instead of their heads,[9] and emotes are added to show how the player feels after each song.[2] Score feedback animations can now be customized and are a toggleable option. Victory celebrations are a new addition, used for when the player finishes the song in single player or wins the song in multiplayer.[10] Cross-progression is a new feature to the Just Dance series, allowing players to progress through multiple consoles. Furthermore, the "Beat Vibrations" function, which has been exclusive to the Nintendo Switch version of previous installments, has been added to the Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5 versions.[11]
On October 9, "Workout Mode", a mode designed for exercise, and "Challenge Mode", an online mode where a player attempts to beat a pre-set higher score from another player, are added as part of the 2024 Edition Celebration Event.[12]
Story mode
2023 Edition includes a story mode-based playlist, a first in the series, titled "Enter the Danceverses". It tells the story of a woman named Sara, who is transported from the real world to a series of worlds collectively known as the "Danceverses" by a man named Wanderlust.[13] The two must stop the evil witch Night Swan from conquering the Danceverses. They recruit a team of expert dancers—Brezziana, Mihaly and Jack Rose (Night Swan's son)—and defeat Night Swan and her mind-controlled soldiers in a dance battle. The soldiers are freed, but Night Swan escapes. The group celebrates before Wanderlust sends Sara back to the real world.[14][15][16]
^Tie in to Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile, with the titular character being the coach of the song.
^Appeared in Just Dance 2 with a different routine, which appears in the game as an alternate routine
Just Dance+
Just Dance+ is a new subscription service launched alongside 2023 Edition.[22] Similar to Just Dance Unlimited from the previous seven games, it offers subscription-based access to a streaming library of songs (150 songs at launch) from previous Just Dance games alongside new exclusive tracks.[23] Songs ported from previous Just Dance games, as well as songs exclusive to the service, are added through frequent updates.
On March 20, 2023, a union claimed that ten percent of Ubisoft's employees experienced burnouts and work stoppages every four weeks during the production of Just Dance 2023 Edition.[27]
In an interview with JB Hi-Fi in November 2022, Just Dance brand director Amelie Louvet confirmed that 2023 Edition would be the final annual installment in the main series, with all further content, including new songs, game modes and features, being added to the game through online updates "throughout the months and years following launch".[35] In a later interview with creative director Matthew Tomkinson, he further confirmed that the series will still release yearly installments through annual song packs instead of new games, and players owning 2023 Edition and future Editions can play with each other online.[17] Subsequent song packs include 2024 Edition, released in October 2023;[36] and 2025 Edition, released in October 2024.[37]
^"다양한 K-pop과 인기 팝송이 수록된 『저스트 댄스 2023 에디션』이 발매됩니다" ["Just Dance 2023 Edition" containing various K-pop and popular pop songs will be released] (in Korean). Nintendo Korea. November 11, 2022. Archived from the original on March 14, 2023. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
