As if the Assassin’s Creed games weren’t already a never-ending source of entertainment, Ubisoft now wants to develop a never-ending entry in the series.
According to a recent Bloomberg story, Assassin’s Creed Infinity will be a live-service game that will develop and expand over time. Instead of being a single isolated glimpse into a historical time, Infinity intends to weave together many locations with flexibility to extend and improve each one post-launch. According to Bloomberg, Ubisoft was inspired by the durability of games such as Fortnite and Grand Theft Auto 5, which continue to make Epic Games and Rockstar ridiculous amounts of money.
While Ubisoft Montreal and Ubisoft Quebec normally take turns developing each Assassin’s Creed version, Infinity will be a collaborative effort between the two departments, with Quebec’s Marc-Alexis Côté in control overall. Each studio will retain its own creative director, with Jonathan Dumont leading Ubisoft Quebec and Clint Hocking leading Ubisoft Montreal. Bloomberg speculates that the sometimes-hostile competition between the two studios may encounter some stumbling blocks in the future.
Following the news, Ubisoft published a separate blog post confirming that the game is in production and offering some explanation. The studio confirmed Bloomberg’s story that the game is still in its early phases of production and discussed the choice to combine Quebec and Montreal’s efforts.
“Rather than passing the baton from game to game, we fervently 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, regardless of where they are within Ubisoft.”
Ubisoft fails to mention in its article that the reorganization continues to put many of the persons accused of harassment last year in charge. “Several males accused of abuse remain in leadership posts following this reorganization, which prompted concerns on internal forums,” reporter Jason Schreier tweeted. “According to a Ubisoft spokesperson, they “had their case carefully evaluated by a third party and were either exonerated or experienced proper disciplinary procedures.”
Despite Ubisoft’s repeated assurances that everything is OK now, no one is truly persuaded. Earlier this year, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot stated that the business has developed a “clearer, more complete, and more actionable” code of conduct to assist in reporting harassment and abuse. However, with workers still claiming that nothing has changed in the previous year and Schreier’s recent accusations, Ubisoft isn’t out of the woods just yet.
