Assassin's Creed Infinity will continue the series' focus on "rich narrative experiences" while seemingly taking it deeper into live service territory.
Ubisoft head Yves Guillemot discussed the project's direction during the company's latest financial call. "The franchise has been evolving over the years toward a live service model that has been successful among gamers, with Odyssey and Valhalla shattering records and significantly expanding the brand's recurring profile," Guillemot said of the Assassin's Creed franchise. "We will continue to deliver powerful Assassin's Creed content over the coming months and years, starting with an ambitious post-launch plan for [Assassin's Creed Valhalla] including the Siege of Paris expansion coming this summer."
"Regarding the project code-named Infinity: we have exciting plans for the future that have the potential to significantly expand both the brand's reach and the recurring profile while holding true to the Assassin's Creed legacy of rich narrative experiences," Guillemot adds. "It is in the very early stages of development and we will share more details in due time."
Assassin's Creed Infinity first surfaced earlier this month through a report from Bloomberg and was confirmed by Ubisoft shortly after. However, both the initial report and the follow-up comments from Ubisoft were extremely vague about how the game will actually look and play, in large part because it isn't expected to arrive for several years. However, an emerging theme (upheld by Guillemot's comments on expanding the franchise's "recurring profile") suggested that Infinity would serve as something of a live service hub for future Assassin's Creed content, offering separate but connected experiences. While our own Louise Blain reckons this could do wonders for the series, some fans grew concerned that Infinity could lead to fewer or thinner Assassin's Creed experiences spread out over a longer period rather than full-fat games.
Ubisoft was asked whether Infinity will directly replace regular Assassin's Creed releases during today's financial call but declined to comment. However, Guillemot's comments do confirm that the game is indeed just getting off the ground and that Infinity will preserve the "rich narrative experiences" that the franchise is known for. This doesn't necessarily rule out more dynamic or seasonal narratives, but again, Infinity is too far out to make any hard judgments.
Ubisoft confirmed that Skull and Bones has passed the Alpha stage of production alongside new reports that the game has shifted to a live service model of its own amidst development turmoil.
