There is Too Much Assassin’s Creed On the Way

Assassin’s Creed is the only game Ubisoft seem to be making, with 11 new titles in the works. That’s according to a leak that’s also promising a Black Flag remake.

That’s four single-player games, three multiplayer games, two VR games (an unreleased game and a sequel to the unreleased game), a mobile game and, yes, a Black Flag remake. Why? Who the hell knows?

That’s a lot of Assassin’s Creed. It might be too much Assassin’s Creed. Think about it. All it takes is for one game to start to feel tired and the rest of these games end up being a disaster. It’s happened before – remember when this franchise was the poster child for yearly franchise fatigue – and it’s arguably happening again already. People seem to be getting gradually tired of the new RPG format. They’re still popular, and obviously Ubi have statistics we couldn’t even dream of looking at. But from the outside, it looks like people are excited to see how things progress.

And perhaps they will progress. Any one of these 11 titles could be a major reboot for the series. And while I wouldn’t like to see mainly Creed go multiplayer, that’s what will happen if it hits it big. I’d be less interested, but many wouldn’t.

Are Ubisoft putting too many of their eggs into one basket?

The House That Assassin’s Creed Built

Now, I love Assassin’s Creed. The original game was the “Whoa” moment for the PS3 for me. Look at what this thing is capable of. And I have stuck with the franchise – off and on – since then. The only one I haven’t played is Valhalla – the rest I’ve finished and often platinumed. I will continue to do so.

Here’s the thing, Ubisoft is more than this and Tom Clancy. But you wouldn’t know that to look at this rumoured leak.

Whatever happened to Beyond Good and Evil 2? And, more importantly, does anybody even care anymore? I’m not sure I do. I barely remember the original game, and I played it multiple times.

Whatever happened to Rayman? No, not the Rabbids, who are alive and well and pissing off Mario. But Rayman.

And the less said about Splinter Cell, the better.

At least Prince of Persia is making a return, albeit a 2.5d return. We shall remain open-minded. But it’s hardly the multi-game investment that is being made into Assassin’s Creed.

It seems to be a regular comment on this website at this point, but “game development is hard”. Big companies – especially those surrounded by controversy and management issues – are not going to be taking huge risks.

But it doesn’t take a business degree to understand that any form of media has a sell-by date. You can’t plan for 200 years of a single franchise and expect to be in the green by the end of it. The fatigue sets in, and your plans are scuppered.

It will be interesting to see how these plans work themselves out. My question is this: if Ubi can’t even get The Sands of Time through the door, how the hell are they going to improve of Black Flag enough to make that worth it?