Recently a virtual reality project was discovered online titled Assassin’s Creed Da Vinci’s Workshop that led fans to believe that Ubisoft might be bringing the franchise to a VR platform. The discovery was made on the website of Tim van Kan, a technical game designer studying at NHTV University in The Netherlands. Fans thought that Assassin’s Creed Da Vinci’s Workshop and the rumored Assassin’s Creed Empire would comprise Ubisoft’s offerings for the franchise this year. However, Ubisoft and van Kan announced Assassin’s Creed Da Vinci’s Workshop was a VR study collaboration between NHTV University and Ubisoft and not meant for public release.
Ubisoft released one or more main games in the Assassin’s Creed franchise every year from 2007 until 2015. However, after lackluster reviews for Assassin’s Creed Unity, Ubisoft stepped back the production pace for the series. Since the release of Assassin’s Creed Syndicate in late 2015, rumors have been circulating about what the next game in the series will be like. Kotaku, in particular, reported on rumors of an “Assassin’s Creed Empire” that will take place in ancient Egypt. According to reports, the latest Assassin’s Creed game will release late this year, but with the extra year added to the release cycle, speculation was that there might be something else special in store for the franchise soon.
When Assassin’s Creed Da Vinci’s Workshop was discovered, it was easy to make the connection that Ubisoft was planning on taking one of their star franchises into the world of VR. Ubisoft has focused a lot of resources into developing VR titles like Werewolves Within, Star Trek: Bridge Crew, Eagle Flight, and Trackmania Turbo, and it would make sense to continue that trend with Assassin’s Creed. Assassin’s Creed Da Vinci’s Workshop is a co-op escape room experience. In the title, players must work together inside Leonardo Da Vinci’s workshop to solve puzzles and recover a piece of Eden. Unfortunately, this seems only to be a VR experiment and not made for general release.
Although it doesn’t look like we’ll be getting an Assassin’s Creed virtual reality experience soon, the fact that Ubisoft is actively supporting experimentation is promising. The only Assassin’s Creed game we might get this year will probably be Assassin’s Creed Empire, but next year might be a different story.
Leave a Reply