The Assassin's Creed series has been a popular staple in gaming since it first appeared in 2007. The franchise has evolved over the years, taking players on action-packed adventures throughout history. Now, Ubisoft seems to be gearing up for the largest Assassin's Creed project to date with a live-service platform called Assassin's Creed Infinity.
Ubisoft typically releases new entries in the Assassin's Creed franchise every year or two, offering a single-player experience where players control an Assassin across a unique setting in history. The games have recently shifted towards large open-world RPG experiences, allowing players to customize their playstyle more freely and adding a plethora of quests to complete. The series is Ubisoft's most popular, having sold over 155 million copies.
As reported by Jason Schreier at Bloomberg, the next Assassin's Creed project is known at Ubisoft as Assassin's Creed Infinity. Ubisoft has combined their Montreal and Quebec teams to work on the project, which Managing Director of Ubisoft Quebec Nathalie Bouchard stated was a strategic decision to help the Assassin's Creed franchise "evolve in a more integrated and collaborative manner that's less centered on studios and more focused on talent and leadership." Ubisoft's Quebec team led the Assassin's Creed Odyssey project, while Montreal was in charge of Assassin's Creed Valhalla.
Ubisoft Is Developing Assassin's Creed Infinity As A Live-Service Platform
Assassin's Creed Infinity will be a live-service project that "sets out to create a massive online platform that evolves over time." Infinity will have multiple settings for players to explore, while also leaving room for expansions that will be added periodically by Ubisoft. Ubisoft explained that each game released on the platform will have their own creative teams and "might look and feel different, but they will all be connected." Taking inspiration from games like GTA Online and Fortnite, Ubisoft is looking to offer ongoing updates to the new Assassin's Creed project that will keep players coming back for more.
Moving towards a live-service project seems like a natural progression for the Assassin's Creed series, with recent games like Odyssey and Valhalla taking players - at least those aiming to finish every main and side quest available - well over a hundred hours apiece to complete. Elements of the live-service experience have already been implemented in previous titles as well, with Assassin's Creed Origins beginning the trend with weekly challenges. Odyssey followed with expansions to the main story post-launch, while Valhalla will be the first game in the series that Ubisoft will add second-year expansions.
Live-service games like Fortnite and GTA Online typically help game studios generate a large amount of revenue by offering special content for players to buy, like the Armored Batman skin in Fortnite. Offering the same experience with constant updates in Assassin's Creed Infinity could push the series to another level of success for Ubisoft.