Watch Dogs: Legion recently unveiled a DLC that featured an Assassin from the Assassin's Creed franchise. The crossover is non-canonical, but this distribution system could mirror how Ubisoft plans to develop Assassin's Creed Infinity. Live-service games often feature crossovers, and Infinity will feature several eras for players to explore. The way Ubisoft implemented the crossover could hint at how content releases function with the newest AC title. Whether Watch Dogs will eventually appear in Assassin's Creed Infinity is unknown, as the game is still developing.
Assassin's Creed Infinity was confirmed by Ubisoft shortly after a leak revealed its existence. Unlike Assassin's Creed Valhalla and Odyssey, Infinity will be a live-service game that allows players to explore multiple eras and experience a longer over-arching plot. Ubisoft has offered little information about what Infinity could look like but will likely release more details as development progresses.
An interview at IGN confirmed that the Watch Dogs: Legion-Assassin's Creed crossover isn't canon. Legion producer Lathiesshe Thillainathan also confirmed that this crossover was not working towards a shared universe between the two IPs. While Assassin's Creed Infinity will not connect to Watch Dogs: Legion, the modern Assassin's Creed character offers many hints about how Ubisoft may develop other modern Assassins. Infinity will explore many periods, and could work to improve gameplay set in the modern day. Watch Dogs: Legion's Assassin features many unique abilities that take advantage of the city's technological landscape, suggesting a more technologically savvy generation of Assassins could be joining the Brotherhood. Assassin's Creed's Shaun Hastings is a perfect example of how modern Assassins fight the Templar Order virtually instead of hand-to-hand.
Assassin's Creed Infinity's Live Service Model Should Implement Changes
As a live-service title, Assassin's Creed Infinity would benefit from crossovers with other franchises. Easter eggs, costumes, and call-back weapons could attract fans of other franchises and bring more attention to Infinity's content. Other games like Dead by Daylight have mastered this formula by incorporating iconic characters from series like Stranger Things and Halloween. Watch Dogs: Legion's Assassin's Creed crossover attracted Ubisoft's AC fans, and additional DLCs for the game kept things fresh. The overall development style for Watch Dogs: Legion could be the basis for Assassin's Creed Infinity and how Ubisoft will approach long-term development with the project.
The traditional DLC model that Assassin's Creed used with Valhalla and Odyssey will likely not translate to a live-service format. Assassin's Creed Infinity cannot offer content updates for the same price as Valhalla's DLCs in a live-service model. Watch Dogs has released a smaller DLC priced at $14.99 and offers a Season Pass option for $39.99. Assassin's Creed Infinity is likely to adopt a Battle Pass or Season Pass style of content releases depending on Ubisoft's success with the model.
Despite the non-canon status of Assassin's Creed and Watch Dogs' crossover, the structure of content releases has revealed many details about how Ubisoft may handle Assassin's Creed Infinity. The Assassin's Creed crossover in Watch Dogs: Legion is available exclusively in the Season Pass purchase, providing free access to the game's DLC. Watch Dogs: Legion is available now on Xbox, PlayStation, PC, Google Stadia, and Amazon Luna. The release date and platforms for Assassin's Creed Infinity are currently unknown but will likely be announced when the game approaches completion.