With more than 200 million copies sold, a star-studded spin-off movie and a Grammy Award under its belt, "Assassin's Creed" has become a video game juggernaut since its launch in 2007.
As fans await Thursday's release of the latest edition, "Assassin's Creed Mirage", AFP takes stock of the game's unique journey.
- History of violence -
From the bazaars of the Holy Land in the era of the Crusades to revolutionary France via the snowy Nordic coasts of the Viking period, the "Assassin's Creed" series has served up a wild ride through time and space.
For the latest edition from its publisher Ubisoft, the game goes back to its Middle East roots, this time to ninth-century Baghdad.
But whatever the time period, the basic gameplay always involves a lot of killing.
Players hack with swords, slay with arrows, decapitate with shields, strangle, bomb and beat to death anyone who gets in their way.
The main character, often a hooded and stealthy assassin, handily has a machine that allows him to access the DNA of long-dead relatives, meaning the possibilities for mayhem are unshackled by time or science.
- Immediate jackpot -
The series was a hit from the start, with the first game selling more than eight million copies worldwide between its 2007 release and 2009, when the second episode was launched.
And the longer it has gone on, the more popular it has become.
France-based Ubisoft said the last release in 2020, "Valhalla", was the most successful so far in the series, generating revenue of more than one billion euros ($1.05 billion).
"Valhalla" broke new ground in other ways too.
In February 2023, it won the first Grammy music industry award dedicated to video game scores for its American composer Stephanie Economou.
- For the chop! -
The game's take on history has not exactly proved universally popular.
French leftist firebrand Jean-Luc Melenchon accused the makers of 2014's "Assassin's Creed Unity" of "propaganda against the people" for its depiction of the nobility during the French Revolution as "poor little people".
"And the man who was our liberator at one point during the revolution, Robespierre, is presented as a monster," he said.
Ubisoft said it employed "dozens of historians, sociologists and other social science researchers" to keep its history accurate.
- Starry cast, one-star reviews -
The "Assassin's Creed" saga followed the familiar path of successful video games into the cinema in 2016 with the release of a movie of the same name.
While the cast was stellar -- with Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard leading the line -- the reviews were less so, and rumours of a big-screen sequel have remained just that.
Ubisoft was undaunted though, and closed a deal with Netflix in 2020 to develop several series based on the franchise.
The saga also has spin-off comics and podcasts.
- China influence -
Mobile gaming is likely to feature heavily in the game's future.
Ubisoft has already signed a deal worth an initial 370 million euros with a subsidiary of Chinese giant Tencent, the undisputed number one in the sector, for mobile gaming rights.
The deal was described by Ubisoft, which has separately received huge investments from Tencent, as "one of the largest" the industry has ever seen.
The first title is already being developed -- "Assassin's Creed Jade" -- an open-world mobil
e game unsurprisingly set in Imperial China.
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Artificial Intelligence Analysis
Defense Industry Analyst: 8Stock Market Analyst: 6General Industry Analyst: 8Analyst Summary
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The latest installment of the widely popular video game, Assassin’s Creed, is set to be released on Thursday and is expected to be a success. The series has been a hit since its launch in 2007, with the first game selling more than 8 million copies worldwide, and the latest, “Valhalla,” generating revenue of more than 1 billion euros. The game’s take on history has not always been historically accurate, and the latest edition has some of the most violent gameplay yet. Despite this, the franchise has become a juggernaut in the industry, winning a Grammy for its music score and inspiring a star-studded spin-off movie. This article provides an overview of the history and success of the Assassin’s Creed series, and its implications for the video game industry and defense industry. While the game’s violent nature has been a source of controversy, its success has been undeniable.
Comparisons with Significant Events and Trends in the Space and Defense Industry over the Past 25 Years: Over the past 25 years, the space and defense industry has seen a growth in the use of technology and the development of new products and services. The Assassins Creed series is an example of the use of technology to create an immersive and engaging experience for gamers. The games take on history has also been one of the elements that have made it successful, as it allows players to explore and experience different time periods and cultures. Additionally, the games use of violence has been a source of controversy, with some arguing that it is too graphic. However, this has not stopped the series from becoming a juggernaut in the industry, and its success is a testament to its use of technology and creative storytelling.
Investigative
Question:
- 1. How does Assassins Creed compare to other popular video games in terms of its use of violence and its overall success?
- 2. What steps have been taken to address the controversy surrounding the games use of violence?
- 3.
How have the games developers addressed historical inaccuracies in the series?4. What other applications could the technology used in Assassin’s Creed have in the defense industry?
5. What challenges have Ubisoft encountered in launching the latest version of the game?
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