Ubisoft takes a "leap of faith" with online-only Assassin's Creed game

[Cal Jeffrey]

In brief: Ubisoft is reportedly considering turning the Assassin's Creed franchise into a games-as-a-service (GaaS) title. With the success of Grand Theft Auto Online and other multiplayer online games, the company believes the market is ripe for a continuous Assassin's Creed hack-everybody-to-bits model.

Update: Almost immediately after leakers exposed Assassin's Creed Infinity, Ubisoft has confirmed work on the project in a blog post this afternoon. The production will be a collaborative effort between Ubisoft's Quebec and Montreal studios. The company did not have a lot to add, other than listing some of the project leads. It also did not admit that it was designing the project as a GaaS model.

The joint statement from the managing directors at Ubisoft Quebec and Ubisoft Montreal, Nathalie Bouchard and Christophe Derennes, respectively, indicated the move is not just an evolution of the franchise, but an evolution of the company as a whole.

"We wanted to share some key updates on the talented and creative minds that will now be working in a collaborative, cross-studio structure between Ubisoft Montreal and Ubisoft Quebec that will guide, grow, evolve, and define the overall future of Assassin’s Creed that includes an important upcoming, early-in-development project codenamed Assassin’s Creed Infinity. Rather than continuing to pass the baton from game to game, we profoundly believe this is an opportunity for one of Ubisoft’s most beloved franchises to evolve in a more integrated and collaborative manner that’s less centered on studios and more focused on talent and leadership, no matter where they are within Ubisoft."

The original story follows below:

Sources in the know told Bloomberg that the Ubisoft developers are working on a multiplayer-only title codenamed Assassin's Creed Infinity. Standalone titles in the franchise typically focus on one period in history. According to the insiders, Infinity will have multiple settings and timeframes that players can experience together.

Also read... 13 Years of Assassin's Creed: From Prince of Persia to an Annual Globe-Trotting Time-Travelling Stealth Game

The game is in early development and not planned for release for at least a few years, so details are scarce and constantly changing. The sources say Infinity will naturally expand over time, with DLC released at regular intervals. Additionally, future single-player titles will tie into the online version's story and lore. The hows and whys of the tie-ins are unclear.

A Ubisoft spokesperson would not discuss the game but did confirm that it exists. The developer's vision is to "exceed the expectations of fans who have been asking for a more cohesive approach" to Assassin's Creed games, the spokesperson said in a non-answer to an unasked question.

Whether fans have indeed been asking for a multiplayer platform in Assassin's Creed is debatable. Ubisoft has toyed with MP modes in past standalone versions, Unity and Revelations come to mind, but neither gained any real traction with the player base. Perhaps Ubisoft thinks that a dedicated multiplayer experience has a better chance of not being overshadowed by the single-player campaign.

There is undoubtedly a contingent of Assassin's Creed players that would like to see a well-executed MP world, but "well-executed" is the operative word. Too often, efforts to create GaaS models end up looking like nothing more than a blatant money grab (*cough* Fallout 76 *cough* Star Wars Battlefront II). What do you think? Would you be into a multiplayer Assassin's Creed game? Would you pay for it, or would it have to be free-to-play? Is Ubisoft taking a "leap of faith" into a pile of hay (or cash) that may or may not be there?

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/90337-ubisoft-reportedly-takes-leap-faith-online-only-assassin.html

 

[Geralt]

They can keep it with themselves.

 

[Aceseven]

I'm out.

AC origins/odyssey, imo as a single player experience are perfect(havent played valhalla). Spent so many hrs just exploring and finding things, doing missions, wandering around.

Why does every game have to get other people crammed into it? video games are a getaway from others, fantasy worlds where it can revolve around your character or you change the worlds dynamics, that doesnt happen when a bunch of players are there, it breaks that immersion, aww man this sucks.

 

[cliffordcooley]

They will do great like they always do. The one percent'ers will make them a fortune. Therefor screwing all the other gamers.

 

[Geralt]

I'm out.

AC origins/odyssey, imo as a single player experience are perfect(havent played valhalla). Spent so many hrs just exploring and finding things, doing missions, wandering around.

Why does every game have to get other people crammed into it? video games are a getaway from others, fantasy worlds where it can revolve around your character or you change the worlds dynamics, that doesnt happen when a bunch of players are there, it breaks that immersion, aww man this sucks.

My same thoughts. I hate multi-player.

 

[supra5mge]

I am getting to old for this sh!t...
I see games becoming more and more obvious money grabs. At least the AAA or big titles. Personally, I have no interest in this. It should remain a single player experience. But that doesn't pay for the yacht etc...

 

[Neatfeatguy]

Ubisoft presents!

Creed Wars!

All the sneaking and stalking of the Assassin's Creed games, mixed with the bullet sponges of the Division games! Sneak up quickly behind your unsuspecting target and try to knife them in the back 30 times before they turn around and one shot you!

Bad guy spotted you and your team? Not to worry, just run around a corner and stand still with 3 other NPCs to hide!

Find yourself surrounded by 5 other players trying to kill you? Not to worry, just parry over and over again to deflect their attacks and then counter attack to get kills!

Bored of climbing, stalking and hunting? Climb aboard your ship and be able to steer it with more precision than most racing games as you work on bombarding other players!




All joking aside. Eh....I can't really see the appeal in a multiplayer version of this game.

 

[Kirby1]

Stupid clickbait headline. All multiplayer PC games are online only except the few that have local coop. Trying to make it sound like a drm issue.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

Meh, who cares? AssAssin creed is a boring grind fest of inclusivity these days. They're all the same game anyway.

 

[Danny101]

Has anyone played a game called Europa? Is it any good?

 

[Shaitan]

Well, nothing to see here. Move on.
Just these mega corporations trying to suck the blood from our veins and the money from our wallets.
Meh.
I will receive Far Cry 6 as I've got my hands on a Ryzen 5900, but definitely won't pay for any of that sh!t3.
Meh. Die, Ubisoft. And take your woke gender crap with you.

 

[Geralt]

Has anyone played a game called Europa? Is it any good?

This game is forbidden here in Russia.

 

[wontolla]

COOP in Unity was fine, Syndicate should have a cooperative mode, GaaS I don't like it.

 

[OortCloud]

Another game filled with 10 year old kids shouting at each other in their squeaky little voices and going purple with their sugary-drink-induced pre-pubescent rage. I'll pass.

 

[Cal Jeffrey]

Stupid clickbait headline. All multiplayer PC games are online only except the few that have local coop. Trying to make it sound like a drm issue.

Not trying to make it sound like a DRM issue at all. Nowhere in the headline, sub-head, or body is DRM even mentioned. You are making an off-base correlation in your head.

And of course, all MP games are mostly online. So what? Online in the headline is being used interchangeably with multiplayer. It could have just as easily read, "Ubisoft takes a 'leap of faith' with multiplayer-only Assassin's Creed game," and 95% of readers would have taken it the same way. The sub-line even says it's looking to compete with GTA Online and Fortnite.

So how any of this equates to clickbait is beyond me. It's all factual information taken from Ubisoft's blog post, and not intentionally worded in a way to imply inaccurate information. Google "Britney Spears topless" if you want to see examples of real clickbait headlines.

 

[cliffordcooley]

So how any of this equates to clickbait is beyond me.

I didn't think it was clickbait. I'm sure they will continue to have their regular games while bleeding the online version. But the online version was the only one you was referring to here.

 

[Cal Jeffrey]

I didn't think it was clickbait. I'm sure they will continue to have their regular games while bleeding the online version. But the online version was the only one you was referring to here.

Yeah, I only mentioned that Ubi said it was going to tie future single-player AC games into the online version, presumably through lore, although it almost sounds like Infinity will act something like a hub for the other games. Really hard to tell what exactly the developers are aiming for at this point.

 

[pcnthuziast]

The consumer of today is powerless. Deciding not to spend used to be the go to power move, but the ruling class can fuel these industries without any other revenue streams and they have no ceiling or expectations.

 

[McMurdeR]

Meh, who cares? AssAssin creed is a boring grind fest of inclusivity these days. They're all the same game anyway.

I get the grindfest comment. Just curious though, what do you mean by inclusivity, and why is it also boring?

 

[Cal Jeffrey]

I get the grindfest comment. Just curious though, what do you mean by inclusivity, and why is it also boring?

I'm not going to pretend to know for sure what he meant, but I think I do. Boring is not quite the right word. More like stale. I remember when the first AC came out. I was stoked and could not wait to play it. I had been following the project from early on and had gotten to see some earlier tech demos for it and it was unlike anything else out there at the time.

When It came out I was not disappointed. Same with AC2. Then AC3 came out and took the franchise to a whole other level. AC3 was the best so far. Then after that, it seemed like Ubisoft started resting on its laurels. It seemed to just start pumping iterations out for the sake of riding the AC brand for all it was worth without adding anything new or innovative. The last one I bought was Black Flag and I didn't really care for it. Although it was something new and different, I didn't care much for the naval portion of the game. Also, the settlement building, while not entirely bad, was just not that original.

So the series became tired. I stopped playing for a while. Then Origins came out and I was impressed at what I was seeing for the first time in a long while in the series. I bought it for my daughter solely for the educational aspect, but played it myself and really liked the game. But then Odyssey was announced, and at first, I was interested, but then when it came out I saw it was just Origins with a Greek skin and I realized Ubisoft had slipped back into the "let's just rerelease the same game with a different story" model and I became disinterested again.

I did not get Odyssey nor did I get Valhalla, although I've been tempted. Other staffers have said it's really good. But that aside, that's a rather long-winded explanation of where I think @Theinsanegamer was coming from. The games are not boring per se, just not new and exciting like they once were.

 

[Shaitan]

I get the grindfest comment. Just curious though, what do you mean by inclusivity, and why is it also boring?

Far Cry 5 had to have gender options. Of course, without two different voices. And of course, the strength wasn't different. As it should have been in real life. But nooo. Greeks didn't have dark skin. Nor did they treat women as equals. But the h3ll with historical facts. Just pander to the journalists praising games for inclusivity. Not history..

 

[Cal Jeffrey]

Far Cry 5 had to have gender options. Of course, without two different voices. And of course, the strength wasn't different. As it should have been in real life. But nooo. Greeks didn't have dark skin. Nor did they treat women as equals. But the h3ll with historical facts. Just pander to the journalists praising games for inclusivity. Not history..

Far Cry 5? Obviously you mean AC Odyssey.

Well, I was completely wrong then, but yeah. I see your point. I didn't buy or play Odessey as I said, it just seemed cookie cutter to me. Far Cry 5 I liked. It had some of the "woke" elements you speak of, but it didn't really bother me. I found it funny actually. The wokefulness came across as parody and made the game more light-hearted IMO. That might not be how Ubi intended it to come across, but that's how I saw it--a ridiculous parody of US political views that were so exaggerated as to be satirical.