Right on the heels of a report by Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier about an unannounced Assassin’s Creed project, Ubisoft has officially confirmed those details with a blog published on its official website. The project, being developed right now under the codename Assassin’s Creed Infinity, is being envisioned as a live service online platform with the intention of developing the future of the franchise with a more cohesive approach to its development.
“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,” writes Ubisoft.
The project is being developed by Ubisoft’s Quebec and Montreal teams in conjunction, who have been alternating with mainline Assassin’s Creed releases for some time. Unity, Origins, and Valhalla were led by Ubisoft Montreal, while Syndicate and Odyssey were led by Ubisoft Quebec. The team developing Assassin’s Creed Infinity combines talent from both, with leadership across both studios being put in overseeing positions not only for the game, but for the series as a whole.
Marc-Alexis Côté of Ubisoft Quebec, who was the creative director on Assassin’s Creed Syndicate and was also involved in the development of Brotherhood and Odyssey, is leading this “new cross-studio, collaborative structure.” Joining him is Montreal’s Étienne Allonier, who has been the brand director of the series for ten years. Meanwhile, Ubisoft Montreal’s Julien Laferrière, who’s been working on the franchise since its first instalment launched in 2007, has been named as the project’s senior producer.
On the creative side of things, Jonathan Dumont and Clint Hocking of Quebec and Montreal have been named as the project’s creative leads. Dumont, of course, has experience with the franchise, having been world director on Syndicate and creative director on Odyssey. Meanwhile Hocking has served as creative director on games like Far Cry 2, Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory, and Watch Dogs: Legion.
“This change means we’re also evolving along with the video game industry,” Ubisoft writes. “The pandemic and working from home have fundamentally changed the way we produce games, giving us a moment to reflect on our organization. Assassin’s Creed was born within the walls of Ubisoft Montreal and the studio built an incredible foundation for the franchise with the immense skill and creativity of its teams before Ubisoft Quebec then took the lead with Assassin’s Creed Syndicate and Odyssey, demonstrating its ability to drive the franchise even further.”
Ubisoft also says that this new live service approach is going to help the franchise evolve “in a more integrated and collaborative manner”, and the cross-studio approach will allow for better representation and diversity within the series and its development.
“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 blog update reads. “Most importantly, Assassin’s Creed has always been developed by multicultural teams with various backgrounds and perspectives that have influenced the depiction of its characters, locations, and cultures. While we know there’s always room for improvement, we believe this new structure allows us to ensure that diversity and representation within our teams continues to grow and match that of our players.”
There’s no word yet on what platforms this game will release for or when it will come out, but seeing as it’s in early development right now, it’s likely that those details won’t be shared for some time to come. It should also be interesting to see if the game will be a premium launch or will be based on a free-to-play model, which is something that Ubisoft is determined to put greater emphasis on going forward, and of course, would be very well suited to a live service model such as this one.
Meanwhile, 2022 is going to see Assassin’s Creed Valhalla receiving more expansions and updates, beyond the year of support it is already receiving this year.