How a massive-scale reinvention saved a legendary gaming franchise
In short: After years of annual releases and technical struggles, Ubisoft Montreal took a massive gamble. By abandoning the established stealth-action formula for a deep role-playing experience, they transformed a flagging series into a global phenomenon set in the ancient sands of Egypt.
By 2017, the Assassin's Creed franchise faced a crisis of identity. Following the tepid sales of Assassin's Creed Syndicate (2015) and the notoriously troubled, bug-ridden launch of Assassin's Creed Unity in 2014, the series needed more than a simple update. Ubisoft Montreal decided to break the annual release cycle, opting for a four-year development period involving nearly 700 developers from various global studios to ensure the new vision was polished and profound.
The result was Assassin's Creed Origins, released on October 27, 2017. Moving away from the familiar stealth-action mechanics of its predecessors, the game introduced a revamped, hitbox-based combat system and heavy role-playing elements. To ground this new world, the team worked closely with historians and Egyptologists to recreate Ptolemaic Egypt during the reign of Cleopatra. This commitment to authenticity extended even to the game's educational utility; the Discovery Tour mode was released to allow players to explore Egyptian history and culture without the distraction of combat.
The narrative follows Bayek of Siwa, a Medjay, and his wife Aya, as they navigate a personal quest for vengeance that ultimately sparks the formation of the Assassin Brotherhood. While critics noted issues with quest design and pacing, the game's massive success—selling over ten million units—proved the gamble had paid off. This new framework laid the groundwork for its successor, Assassin's Creed Odyssey, which moved the series to Classical Greece in 2018.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Assassin's Creed Origins
- Also: Wikidata — Assassin's Creed Origins · CC0
- Also: Wikidata — Assassin's Creed Origins: The Hidden Ones · CC0
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