The Assassin’s Creed franchise has ventured and tinkered its way to success through five, thrilling games that has marked a path for Ubisoft’s future despite where the series journeys to next. We’ve seen tower-defense and we’ve seen multiplayer, but what if I told you that we almost saw drop-in drop-out multiplayer in the series’ first installment?
In an interview with OXM UK, Assassin’s Creed 3’s Mission Director Philippe Bergeron explained that the original Assassin’s Creed was planned to have co-op, but the addition of Desmond in the story shaped what we were eventually shipped.
"For us it was really part of the single player experience, to have in-and-out co-op, and in the end we never thought it made sense in the storyline that we had for the Animus," said Bergeron.
"There was no way to reconcile having multiplayer or co-op in an ancestor's memories. Your ancestor lived his life in a certain way, so assuming you had branching storylines, it creates a paradox. It didn't fit."
Though Assassin’s Creed 3 failed to live up to its unbeatable, and slightly unfair, hype, Ubisoft revealed that they’re not afraid to attempt new things in a series that’s name alone would sell thousands at the drop of a dime. Could we see drop-in drop-out co-op in future Assassin’s Creed titles? Who knows.
Source: [OXM UK]
