The announcement of Assassin’s Creed Infinity shocked many fans. The series has been a reliable staple in Ubisoft’s portfolio for over a decade, and the reveal that it would be moving to (what is assumed to be) a Games-as-a-Service format was met with significant skepticism. After all, with Assassin’s Creed Valhalla being the franchise’s best-seller, why change a winning formula? However, though it may seem like Assassin’s Creed Infinity might be a major misstep for Ubisoft, the announcement leaves the door open for possibilities that might revitalize the series.
Will Assassin’s Creed Infinity be bad?
Let’s face it, Ubisoft’s games are predictable and bloated. Even Valhalla, for its success, was packed to the brim with side missions, optional places to explore, minigames, and sheer content. Now, even more, is coming with the extended support that was announced for the game. Kicking it with Eivor has been fantastic and all, but imagine if the effort that went into crafting all the material in Valhalla was spread over a few adventures.
Typically, Ubisoft Montreal and Ubisoft Quebec have been alternating Assassin’s Creed releases, but with both studios working on Assassin’s Creed Infinity, we could start getting entries on a more frequent release schedule that focus on smaller maps and a tighter gameplay experience. There are still many periods and places the series hasn’t touched. Using Assassin’s Creed Infinity as a hub to collect these smaller experiences would be great.
Few gamers complete these giant, sprawling open-world games, so why bother making them so big? Perhaps Ubisoft is finally coming around to the fact that quantity is usually obtained from the sacrifice of quality. I’d much rather have exciting and varied mission designs rather than Viking rap battles or drinking contests.
Ideally, fans could purchase a season pass to Assassin’s Creed Infinity and get a single-player adventure in return. Ubisoft could even offer the first quarter or something of the game for free and require the pass for the rest of it. Given that the main complaint about the series has been the bloat, a tighter story and gameplay experience would go a long way towards revitalizing enthusiasm.
Assassin’s Creed Infinity could also finally piece together the modern-day segments in a coherent way. Following the same characters over seasons in the present day while the historical parts change protagonists and locations might make the modern sections more than just an annoyance that fans have to get through to play the actual game.
It’s entirely possible Assassin’s Creed Infinity could just be a cheap cash-in, sacrificing the franchise’s identity in favor of predatory microtransactions and FOMO. However, Assassin’s Creed is one of Ubisoft’s bread and butter series, and I doubt it would stray too far from what it knows works.
