The next Assassin’s Creed project was recently announced, and it’s being called Assassin’s Creed Infinity for now as the real name hasn’t been shared yet. Not much is known about this upcoming game except that it may be coming in 2022 and that it will be a live-service Assassin's Creed. The time frame makes sense given that the recent Assassin’s Creed games were released two years apart, but a live-service entry to the franchise is uncharted territory. The last three games in the Assassin's Creed series went a different direction than previous titles, with more of an Action RPG focus, and while they were certainly different than the original games, they were still full, story-focused experiences. This switch to a live-service model for Assassin's Creed may spell trouble for the future of the franchise.

Opinions of the Assassin’s Creed series have been mixed and fluctuate over time, as the newest games diverged from the formula of the originals, with a heavier focus on RPG elements and more action-heavy gameplay taking the emphasis away from the stealth aspects. Some fans love these changes, others not so much. Whatever hope these fans may have had that there would be a return to form for the Assassin’s Creed series may be dashed with this new announcement. Instead of refocusing on the linear, stealth-heavy model of the old days, it looks like Ubisoft is looking to cash in on the live-service market.

Related: Every Assassin's Creed Game, Ranked Worst to Best

One the biggest potential issues Assassin’s Creed Infinity's live-service model could have is its content. One of the major complaints the recent games have gotten has been about their worlds and the content (or lack thereof) in them. These Assassin’s Creed titles each have large open worlds - some would say too large - which can become very grindy and repetitive, with the same quests and activities used over and over to simulate a variety of content. It feels like in order to make these worlds so large and to give the games a longer run time, Ubisoft has simply crammed in as much filler as possible without putting too much effort in to keep the gameplay feeling fresh. It is hard to imagine that this would get any better with a live-service game, especially when it’s possible that Assassin's Creed Infinity's world will be even larger. Ubisoft would have to put a lot more effort into making this continued new content worthwhile, or else Assassin’s Creed Infinity could suffer the same fate as Marvel’s Avengers.

Is Assassin’s Creed Infinity A Cash Grab?

Assassin's Creed Infinity will have multiple settings

Regardless of any complaints about the previous Assassin's Creed games, when they launched they were full titles, not constantly-updating live-service Assassin's Creed experiences. Any additional content added later either via seasonal events or DLCs were just a bonus. Because live-service games are constantly getting new content, it is highly possible that at launch Assassin’s Creed Infinity may be only a portion of what players are used to receiving. And then there is the question of "how much will it cost?" Will this be a $60-$70 game that releases with little content but promises to add more? Considering how much difficulty Ubisoft has had filling their usual games with DLC, it is reasonable to worry about how they plan to add new and interesting content over a longer period of time.

And then there is the issue of microtransactions. Past Assassin’s Creed games have seen their fair share of cosmetics hidden behind paywalls and in-game currency to help shorten grind time, which players can also purchase in the Ubisoft store. With a live-service Assassin's Creed game, this could only get worse. It’s even possible that Ubisoft will decide to put the game's new content behind the same paywalls. That kind of model is fine with games like Fornite, which is free to play, but if a $60 game wants players to fork out even more money for new content, the series could be in trouble. Instead of getting finished games with a cohesive story, new Assassin’s Creed games could simply be never-ending experiences that expect more money for each new piece of the story. All of this is speculation, of course, considering little-to-nothing is actually known about the new game at this point, but there are quite a few things Ubisoft will need to be careful of in order for Assassin’s Creed Infinity to worthwhile.

Next: AC Infinity Could Bring Another New Feature To Assassin's Creed