Following a report earlier today, Ubisoft has officially confirmed the existence of Assassin’s Creed Infinity, which is reportedly a giant live-service game platform that will feature multiple settings. While those reported details were not explicitly confirmed, some of them were implied, and it has been officially confirmed by the company that the Ubisoft Montreal and Ubisoft Quebec teams will work together on the project. It’s also worth noting that Assassin’s Creed Infinity is only the codename for the project and that no exact timeline on when it might come out has been shared.
The first details for what Ubisoft refers to as “an important upcoming, early-in-development project” revolve around who, exactly, will be working on it. The Ubisoft Quebec and Ubisoft Montreal “cross-studio, collaborative structure” is led by Marc-Alexis Côté, who will be executive producer of the entire Assassin’s Creed franchise. Ubisoft Montreal’s Julien Laferrière will be the senior producer and oversee production. Additionally, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey creative director Jonathan Dumont and Watch Dogs: Legion creative director Clint Hocking will both be creative directors and share leadership for Assassin’s Creed Infinity with Dumont at Ubisoft Quebec and Hocking at Ubisoft Montreal.
“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 statement from Ubisoft, attributed to Ubisoft Quebec Managing Director Nathalie Bouchard and Ubisoft Montreal Managing Director Christophe Derennes, reads in part. “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 continue to grow and match that of our players.”
As noted above, Assassin’s Creed Infinity exists but there is no telling exactly what that looks like or when it will release. The latest and greatest Assassin’s Creed title, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, is currently available for the PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC
When video games get leaked or reported on before they get an official announcement, the people working on them have a very difficult decision to make: should they just go ahead and announce the game? It can get frustrating for everyone involved when the whole world knows that the game exists, but the developer and publisher just keep on pretending that nobody knows about it. Luckily for fans, that isn’t the case with the latest installment of the “Assassin’s Creed” series.
The news first broke when Bloomberg reported that a new “Assassin’s Creed” title, codenamed “Infinity,” is in the works at Ubisoft. The title is supposed to be a live service game, with a massive online world that evolves. Shortly after the Bloomberg report went life, Ubisoft made a blog post to address the news.
The blog post did not provide too many details about “Assassin’s Creed Infinity” beyond the fact that the game does indeed exist. Some of the projects leads for the title were also named, which should interest fans who have kept up with the inner workings of Ubisoft.
Infinity and controversy at Ubisoft
In speaking to Bloomberg about the new “Assassin’s Creed” title, Ubisoft also addressed the controversy surrounding company higher-ups accused of sexual harassment, many of whom have maintained management positions. A Ubisoft spokeswoman told Bloomberg, “Any employee that had allegations and remains at Ubisoft has had their case rigorously reviewed by a third party and were either exonerated or underwent appropriate disciplinary actions,” she said. “Employees who have been under investigation would not remain at Ubisoft if results of investigations warranted termination.”
Another key bit of information is that “Assassin’s Creed Infinity” is years away and may not even be the next entry in the series. The ambitious project may still have multiple years left in its development.
According to the Bloomberg report, Ubisoft’s Montreal and Quebec studios are working together on this project, rather than alternating leadership. This change in development organization is meant to better represent individual talent instead of studios, allowing for talent across Ubisoft to work on the new title.
As noted in Ubisoft’s blog post, “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.
Earlier today, Bloomberg reported that the next entry in the Assassin’s Creed series will be a live service game. Shortly thereafter, Ubisoft confirmed the existence of a new Assassin’s Creed project.
Known by the codenamed Assassin’s Creed Infinity, the new project will be a collaborative effort between Ubisoft’s Montreal and Quebec studios.
“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,” Ubisoft said in a blog post.
So far, there are no details on Assassin’s Creed Infinity. In its post, Ubisoft did not confirm the details of Bloomberg’s reporting that the game would be a live service platform akin to BioWare’s soon-to-be-shut-down Anthem or Take Two’s GTA V.
Traditionally, Assassin’s Creed games have been single-player experiences taking place during distinct far-flung moments in history. The most recent game, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, took place during the Viking conquest of England in the 800s AD.
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According to Bloomberg, which spoke to Ubisoft employees on the condition of anonymity, Assassin’s Creed Infinity will comprise different but interconnected Assassin’s Creed games with Ubisoft adding more games from different settings over the life of the service. Ubisoft did not confirm these details, instead merely stating that the pandemic and working from home has driven them to embrace a more unified approach to game development, which was previously divided between the corporation’s studios.
The announcement of the new Assassin’s Creed project comes on the heels of continuing problems within Ubisoft regarding multiple sexual harassments and abuse complaints against upper management. Last year, Kotaku published a report detailing multiple instances of abusive employee conduct which, according to insiders, still haven’t been properly addressed. Several executives have left the company in the aftermath including chief creative officer Serge Hascoët and Yannis Mallat. While internal shakeups have led to additional departures like CEO Yves Guillemot’s son Charlie Guillemot.