Bringing back an actual Assassin/Hidden One to play, focusing on stealth, and making a game on a smaller scale than the past few entries sounds a lot like the original action-adventure games of the franchise. It does remain to be seen, but if this is the case, then Assassin’s Creed Rift shouldn’t just be a throwback to the past games, but a new chapter in upcoming AC content.
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The Known Future of Assassin’s Creed
There are two main things players know about the future of Assassin’s Creed. The first is Assassin’s Creed Infinity, a live-service hub where players will be able to visit multiple settings. There’s not a lot confirmed about it, but some have described it as a Hitman 3-style approach in terms of single-player content but with wider live-service features. Because it is live-service and a mainline game, fans can expect Ubisoft to try to support it for quite some time—even longer than AC Valhalla.
But, that doesn’t mean Assassin’s Creed Infinity takes over the franchise, leading to the second thing. Fans can reasonably expect Assassin’s Creed Infinity to be core content, but even as Ubisoft studios support it, it’s likely that the open-world Assassin’s Creed games are going nowhere. They may be more spaced out, but Ubisoft has commented on the high engagement and success of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla in the past. Ergo, fans can reasonably expect more games in this style in the future.
How Assassin’s Creed Rift Could Fit Into This Plan
However, with as popular as the overall franchise is, open-world games and one live-service game really isn’t the limit for Ubisoft. There have been movies and spin-offs, and there’s certainly room for more classic action-adventure games—exactly what Assassin’s Creed Rift sounds like. If it proves successful, that will likely cement this even more. Ubisoft is aware of the split among its fanbase, with some fans enjoying the open-world games but some, also or otherwise, wanting to experience the originals again. In terms of parkour, story, Assassin-focused gameplay, and all of that, Assassin’s Creed Rift should be the first of many more.
There’s no reason that Ubi should limit the franchise to two main games/styles. AC Infinity is all good and well, so is whatever succeeds Valhalla. But if Assassin’s Creed Infinity serves as the central hub, and Ubi moved AC to something like one classic game every two-three years, alternating it with open-world games, it’s hard to see how that wouldn’t at least improve the current state of affairs among fans.
Some will prefer Infinity, Some will prefer games like Valhalla, and some will prefer games like Rift—that’s the nature of the beast. Ubisoft certainly can’t make everyone happy, but where there is room, the possibility of Assassin’s Creed Rift being a classic experience poses a big question: why stop there?
Assassin’s Creed Rift is reportedly in development.
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