Assassin's Creed Origins: no multiplayer, but online features make an unwelcome return
Assassin's Creed Origins hasn't quite escaped Ubisoft's kitchen sink approach.
Assassin's Creed Origins doesn't have a multiplayer mode, director Ashraf Ismail has confirmed.
The news came via an episode of YouTube's E3 Coliseum coverage devoted to Assassin's Creed Origins, and isn't much of a surprise; Black Flag was the last Assassin's Creed game to have competitive multiplayer, and Unity's co-op did not return for the better-received Syndicate.
So that's one worry put to bed, but Ismail did say that Assassin's Creed Origins will have online features. He didn't elaborate, saying only that they "enhance" the single-player experience, so we have some hopes he means something like Assassin's Creed Brotherhood's (sadly retired) assassin management social game, and not Unity's locked chests, or that intrusive Uplay reward nonsense. They're small hopes though, because even after a few years off we have a hard time believing Ubisoft can let go of its more annoying design decisions.
During the panel, Ismail also said that some segments of Assassin's Creed Origins will have a different playable protagonist. The director wouldn't be drawn, but it's significant that he also wouldn't comment on the possibility of modern day playable sections. Put the two together and you get an interesting possibility; while many players dislike the modern-day sections, others would really like to see the meta-plot of the franchise come out of the hold it's been in since the end of Assassin's Creed 3.
Assassin's Creed Origins will release in September on PC, PS4 and Xbox One. We're all very hopeful it's going to lever the franchise back into proper blockbuster territory by not being a total mess.