Assassin’s Creed Infinity Could Find a Home in the Roman Empire

The decision to move Assassin's Creed away from yearly releases to increase the quality and finish of the final product was met by general approval from fans of the series. While the "Ancient Trilogy" brought with it excellent games, standout features, and plenty of memorable moments, Valhalla did show signs that the development team needed to pause and seek to better understand where to take the series next.

Though there are rumors of a VR game in the pipeline, the next mainline game is tentatively titled Assassin's Creed Infinity, and it's said to be a live service game. With that in mind, Infinity will likely be even more of a departure from the norm than Origins was. Although it's likely the game will be set across multiple time periods, there is an argument to be made that Infinity is the right time to finally bring the Order of Assassins to the Holy Roman Empire.

The Scale of the Roman Empire Lends Itself to An Online Game

Before the announcement of Odyssey, there were rumors that Rome was going to be the game's setting, and little has happened in the intervening period to quash that as a prospect for a future game. If it comes to fruition, an online multiplayer Assassin's Creed game is arguably even more suited to doing this than a traditional single-player title would be. The first advantage comes from the scale of the empire. A world map could allow players to travel from the deserts of North Africa to the lush green landscapes of Britannia and everywhere else in between. This would be enormously appealing to fans of the type of open worlds crafted in recent Assassin's Creed games and other popular MMOs.

Beyond this potential variety, Rome features some of the most spectacular points of interest in the ancient world -- not to mention the other cities under Roman control. Players were able to experience some of these with Ezio, but many of those centerpieces were marred by thousands of years of aging and limited by the technology of the time. Now, Ubisoft could certainly render them in an awe-inspiring way.

There Is Plenty of Lore for the Order of Assassins in the Roman Empire

Additionally, there is a ton of pre-existing Assassin's Creed lore to lean on in the Roman Empire. Most famously, the Order of Assassins is responsible for the assassination of the mad Emperor Caligula after they sent a man known as the Hidden One Leonius to end his rule. They were also purported to have bureaus across the globe, influencing events on a local level and a grand scale. The Assassins were also present at the fall of the Roman Empire, equally withdrawing from Britannia and the North over fears for their safety. Equally, the overlap in time between the Roman Republic and Bayek's story in Origins could present some excellent crossover opportunities.

Whatever Ubisoft decides to go with, it looks as though the next entry in the storied Assassin's Creed franchise will have familiar elements while being incredibly distinct. This may be a bad thing for purists, but as long as the developer retains enough of the features that keep fans of the franchise coming back, it should hold onto enough of that Assassin's Creed magic to still draw fans in.