According to a report released early this morning by Bloomberg, Ubisoft is taking the Assassin’s Creed franchise in a radically new direction with an upcoming project code-named Assassin’s Creed Infinity. The project’s existence and that code name were later confirmed by a post from Ubisoft itself.
However, what Ubisoft didn’t mention was that Assassin’s Creed Infinity will be a live service title that connects multiple entries in the franchise.
The Bloomberg report, quoting unidentified sources, states: “Infinity will contain multiple settings, with room to expand to others in the months and years following its debut … .” Other details on the game are, naturally, sparse since its existence was only just acknowledged by Ubisoft.
Lending credence to the rumor that Assassin’s Creed Infinity is a massive project, Ubisoft is putting one of its largest studios in charge of the project. Ubisoft Montreal and Ubisoft Quebec, which merged this past April, will be “working in a collaborative, cross-studio structure” that will “guide, grow, evolve, and define the overall future of Assassin’s Creed” according to Ubisoft. The entire project will be led by Ubisoft Quebec’s former executive producer Marc-Alexis Cote, who is taking on the role of executive producer of the Assassin’s Creed franchise.
Cote has a rocky history with Ubisoft. He’s one of many high-level Ubisoft employees named last August in a report from Gamasutra who reportedly contributed to a toxic and, in some cases, abusive workplace culture at the company. Another controversial figure, Jonathan Dumont, will be one of the project’s creative directors. Dumont, previously the creative director on Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, was also named in the Gamasutra report, with sources referring to him as “an abusive and controlling figure who in many ways embodies many of the problems currently facing Ubisoft.”