Ubisoft just announced Assassin’s Creed Infinity… at least, kind of. A report claimed that Assassin’s Creed would be shifting to a live-service model, though details on exactly how that would work remained fuzzy. A few hours later, Ubisoft – which had been informed of the report a week in advance – published a statement confirming that it was correct, and listed various names involved in the project. However, details were still sparse. It seems to me like it’s pivoting the series towards a GTA Online model, with a general online playground for assassining and several larger updates and events that will replace ‘new games’ by letting you travel to different settings and eras – like Conquistador-era Brazil, perhaps. Maybe I’m all wrong, and Assassin’s Creed Infinity will be nothing like this, but that doesn’t really matter. The larger point I’m making here is that GTA Online badly needs some competition, and whatever form it takes, I don’t see Assassin’s Creed Infinity providing it.
As well as listing the personnel involved in Infinity, Ubisoft offers this: “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.”
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Clearly, the statement is very focused on what the switch means for Ubisoft itself. That Ubi is going to collaborate across different studios rather than letting a couple of individual ones make a solo Assassin’s Creed doesn’t necessarily need to change the structure of the series; two studios could still collaborate and produce a regular, single-player, beefy RPG to hit shelves for Christmas 2022. However, the report – which we can assume with some certainty is correct, given Ubi’s confirmation of the project’s existence – states Infinity is “inspired by smash hits like Fortnite and Grand Theft Auto 5,” in that it will “keep players engaged for years by frequently adding new content or changing the experience in dramatic ways.” It doesn’t explicitly state that Infinity is multiplayer, but that is somewhat implied by the idea of ‘live-service’. Also, while GTA 5 does have a robust and long offline single-player mode similar in length and depth to Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, it’s clear that the line “frequently adding new content” refers to GTA Online – in fact, GTA Online is specifically mentioned throughout the report.
Assassin’s Creed used to have a great multiplayer, but it was nothing like described here. It challenged you to blend in with the NPCs while hunting down and killing your enemies that were attempting to do the same. If bellends started running about everywhere, it didn’t really work, but when everyone played along, it was genius. If you missed out on it, it was basically a triple-A Among Us, except everyone was kind of the Impostor. Among Us, as popular as it is, is not a ‘live-service’ game in the way of Fornite or GTA though, so it’s hard to imagine this mode returning. It might not even be multiplayer at all, but exactly how that would work is anyone’s guess.
You could also say that Assassin’s Creed lends itself to a live-service format more easily than people might expect. Valhalla has over 100 hours of content in the base game, an entirely new chapter to explore in Wrath of the Druids, and more updates to come, while Odyssey and Origins before it were broadly similar. It’s a far cry from the first game’s tightly paced 15-hour narrative.
Still, whatever form it takes, it's hard to see it being GTA Online; but GTA Online badly needs competition. GTA Online is like a genre unto itself. There's the unbridled chaos of just running around and doing whatever you want, like a regular GTA game where you ignore the missions and spam cheats. There's also the more serious side of it, using it as a Second Life-style game, walking in the park, long after dark, taking in the sights of the city. Either way, GTA Online is whatever you make of it. But at the same time, it's a highly structured experience with events, new locales, and specific missions and challenges that tap into the chapter model of Fortnite, although it accomplishes all of this in a more organic way. The only thing that comes close to GTA Online is Red Dead Online, which is also made by Rockstar and is basically 'What if GTA Online but cowboys?'
GTA 5 was launched in 2013 – at least, the first time around. Bukayo Saka, England's bright spark of Euro 2020, was in Year 6 when it came out. Jude Bellingham was in Year 4. It's got a good story, and an open world that was ahead of its time, but it hasn't been rereleased so many times because of its narrative prowess; it's because GTA Online still brings in money by the boatload. It made around $1 billion last year alone. It's still phenomenally popular, but part of the problem is people seeking that kind of online experience don't have any other options. The only one that exists is Red Dead Online, and that's so similar it doesn't really offer a change of pace – and with both being made by Rockstar, the two are never going to seriously force the other to innovate. They're both playing for the same team, after all.
Something needs to emerge to challenge GTA Online. I'm not sure Assassin's Creed Infinity will be it, but then I'm not entirely sure what Assassin's Creed Infinity is, in fairness. I'm not sure Ubisoft is going to tell us anytime soon, either. I think Assassin's Creed is more suited to the model than it's perhaps given credit for, but I don't know how it will include online play – or if it will at all – and I don't know how a game that forces those sorts of questions suits live service in between the big content updates. Somebody just please make a game to stop GTA 5 being a launch title for the PS6, thanks.
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