Ubisoft already has a thing where multiple studios work on developing their games simultaneously- it’s a segmented, modular approach to game development, that can often pay out, but other times lead to a messed up, disjointed outcome, such as a lot of the Assassin’s Creed games.
That said, it doesn’t seem like they will be quitting with that approach any tome soon- in addition to the three studios already working on their upcoming, eagerly anticipated The Division (Massive Entertainment in Sweden, Red Storm in the U.S. and Ubisoft Reflections in the U.K.), Ubisoft Annency, the French studio that has lead development on recent Assassin’s Creed multiplayer games, will also now be working on the game.
“The team in Annecy is delighted to be collaborating with Massive, Red Storm and Reflections on Tom Clancy’s The Division,” said Rebecka Coutaz, studio manager at Ubisoft Annency. “We are bringing our previous experience in multiplayer online games and this project is allowing us to build our technical knowledge in other areas and become experts on this incredible brand. The collaboration with the other studios is going very smoothly, and we’re working together to ensure we meet and exceed the high expectations players have for this new title.”
Although Ubisoft is declining to comment on exactly what Annency will be working on in The Division, it’s not a big leap to assume that they will be helping with the game’s helping of multiplayer modes.
Let’s just hope that having all these studios so far away from each other working on the same game does not impact it in some negative way.