Ubisoft's ambitious games-as-a-platform takes shape with Assassin's Creed Infinity

Ubisoft's experimental never-ending Assassin's Creed game is taking shape.

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Assassin's Creed Infinity is part of what I call Games-as-a-Platform. It's a lot like Games-as-a-Service, but there's extra steps. Whereas GaaS games are typically elongated in a continuous stream of content, GaaP titles would have a distinct level of separation between the games. This would create a kind of episodic approach that fits the Assassin's Creed series quite well, what with each game taking place during a different historical era.

Ubisoft has loosely outlined what Assassin's Creed Infinity will be, confirming it'll act as a kind of one-stop hub for all future games in the series. Infinity is kind of like a combination of a store, social hub, and game launcher, all within the main app client. So think of AC Infinity as the main menu, and each game as a different mode of sorts.

Now sources have offered new details about Assassin's Creed to Insider Gaming's Tom Henderson.

Infinity isn't just a launcher. It has an over-arching storyline that threads into the games themselves, and it takes place during the modern day.

According to the report, Infinity will be a lot like the current Assassin's Creed games, complete with its own storefront that sells cosmetic items on a rotating basis.

Infinity will also have what's called Synchronization. This new feature allows players to tackle Projects, or a kind of interactive battle pass with narrative elements. Halo Infinite tried promised to do this with its battle passes, but ultimately failed. It'll be interesting to see if Ubisoft can pull this off.

Instantaneous loading is also believed to be a part of Infinity's main feature set.

Sources go on to say that there are eight Assassin's Creed projects currently in development:

1. Red
2. Invictus
3. Hexe
4. Obsidian (AC4 Black Flag remake)
5. Nebula (set in India, Aztec Empire, Mediterranean)
6. Raid (F2P co-op game)
7. Echoes (multiplayer)
8. Separate Assassin's Creed remake