Assassin’s Creed Could Have Originally Been a Co-Op Game

Assassin’s Creed had something secret lurking in the shadows that could’ve changed the series’ history. Ubisoft has been bringing players into the world of Assassin’s Creed in many ways over the years, either through its immersive gameplay or its theatrical movie experience. For nearly two decades, the series has tested the waters by bringing new ways to play the series. The new release of Assassin’s Creed Shadows begs the question of how two characters can be utilized to curate a cohesive gameplay experience, as there have been numerous attempts in past AC titles to deliver multiplayer experiences. While we might speculate this due to the rise in cooperative gameplay during that time, there was a point in 2007 when the original Assassin’s Creed was a co-op title.

Before we use the Animus to figure this out, the report stems from former Ubisoft technical director Julien Merceron. During a presentation of Assassin’s Creed in 2015 at the Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie in Paris, Merceron revealed that a multiplayer mode was added to the original title during the production stage. The mode got relatively far into the development process, but Ubisoft ended up cutting it sometime before launch.

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Merceron also revealed that when Assassin’s Creed shipped, some of the earlier copies had traces of the multiplayer mode within the code. The bug detailed that in the event of another controller being plugged into the console, a second assassin would appear on the screen. This not only confirmed that local co-op was a potential possibility for Assassin’s Creed, but also reiterated the interest in bringing multiplayer to the series.

Ubisoft eventually brought traditional multiplayer modes to Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, Assassin’s Creed Revelations, Assassin’s Creed III, and Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, which can be played through “Wanted” mode. While the game did add more modes to the multiplayer experience, it wasn’t until Assassin’s Creed Unity that co-op was brought to the main story. The games have always been a staple for single-player storytelling, which made the shift a bit jarring to some, considering the online aspect of the game was glitchy and riddled with bugs. Seeing how Ubisoft had thought about bringing this aspect to the earlier games is interesting, given that the launch of Assassin’s Creed was around the time when gaming companies were looking into interactive cooperative gameplay.

It’s hard to say for sure if multiplayer could be brought back to the franchise, seeing how the series is focused on single-player storytelling, but the possibility is still there. Honestly, the thought of having the original Assassin’s Creed be a co-op title is bittersweet, as it could’ve been interesting to see how that integration would play into the story.