Following a report from Bloomberg's Jason Schreier, Ubisoft revealed that Assassin's Creed Infinity is indeed real, and it aims to take the series in a new direction.
Assassin's Creed Infinity is under development by not one, but two Ubisoft studios, Montreal and Quebec. Ubisoft Montreal most recently worked on Assassin's Creed Valhalla, whilst Ubisoft Quebec's last title in the series was Odyssey in 2019.
In a rather detailed blog post, Ubisoft revealed that the two teams would be working to develop Assassin's Creed Infinity in a more "integrated and collaborative manner", rather than passing the baton from game to game. Although the post doesn't ever use the words 'online', 'live', or 'service', Schreier revealed this is the direction the series is going in.
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In recent years, the Assassin's Creed series has embraced the RPG genre with open arms and ditched the stealthy action-adventure games they once were in the days of II or Brotherhood. The change hasn't been for everyone, with some fans noting that they don't even consider them the same games anymore. So when Bloomberg's report revealed Assassin's Creed Infinity would take the franchise in yet another direction, fans didn't take the news too well.
Twitter, Reddit, and the rest of the internet went into hysteria at the thought of yet another franchise turning into a money-grabbing online service. Many fans were quick to compare Infinity to Fortnite, which is filled with so many microtransactions, skins, and other cosmetics it's enough to make your eyes water.
But, the internet did what it does best and instantly jumped to conclusions based on a single report, before there was even confirmation from Ubisoft themselves. The release of Infinity is still years away according to Schreier's report, which means if Ubisoft can do it right, an online service Assassin's Creed could be a really good step for the series.
Now, you might think I'm being controversial for the sake of it, but I do completely understand why a live service Assassin's Creed that never ends could be absolutely awful. If Valhalla was already too much to handle, Infinity could be even worse. And yes, it's likely to include a bunch of microtransactions to make you spend loads of money. Personally, as long as they're purely cosmetics, who cares? This is the direction the gaming industry is headed, so buckle in.
BUT, if done correctly, it doesn't need to feel like a chore. Ubisoft has already proved that they know how to do good live service games such as The Division, For Honor, The Crew and so many more. Assassin's Creed is one of the few Ubisoft titles that actually isn't a live service game, so we all should have seen this coming a long time ago.
This also gives Ubisoft the opportunity to learn from mistakes made in their other live service games such as The Division. Many players think that The Division is just too much of a grind and when you couple that with the complaints of the size of Valhalla, Ubisoft is sure to take that feedback into account.
Infinity could also finally take the series back to its Ezio Auditore days of interesting stories and stealthy combat, without completely ridding of the Valhalla RPG elements. This is the perfect opportunity for an Assassin's Creed title to have something for everyone. Remember the intense naval combat in Black Flag? Players could have that plus the stealth of the original Assassin's Creed in one title, no more waiting for the next instalment to play an AC title where you like the location and gameplay.
The gameplay of Infinity could be hand-picked from all of the best parts of the series, the raids and wars from Valhalla and Odyessy, the naval combat from Black Flag, and the stealth of the original Assassin's Creed.
Nobody knows what a live service Assassin's Creed is going to look like, but the possibilities are endless. Going off of Ubisoft's history, it's also clear that it will be supported for a long time. Rainbow Six Siege was released in 2015 and is still going strong 6 years later, and is one of the biggest titles around.
Plus, remember how fun Assassin's Creed Brotherhood's Multiplayer mode was? An up-to-date version of something similar could really be something special. Speaking of Multiplayer modes, many fans will turn their noses up if I say the words 'Battle Royale' next to Assassin's Creed, but it's most definitely going to be considered after the massive success of titles such as Warzone, Fortnite, and more. Whether you like the idea of an Assassin's Creed Battle Royale, there's no denying you'd try it out.
But when it comes down to it, the two key elements putting people off the idea of Assassin's Creed Infinity is it becoming a cash grab, as well as it possibly being way too big and too much of a grind. As much as I agree, I just think there's too much potential to completely dismiss the idea.