Alongside previews for Assassin's Creed Shadows going live today, Ubisoft offered detail on a new feature for all future Assassin's Creed games called the Animus Hub, which seems to be the previously-reported Assassin's Creed: Infinity.In a presentation from Ubisoft that IGN attended, Ubisoft revealed the Animus Hub, effectively a starting point from which games such as Assassin's Creed Shadows can be launched.
However, Ubisoft was adamant that this was not simply another game launcher, but rather a feature embedded in Shadows that will also be integrated into future games such as the upcoming Codename Hexe or Codename Invictus.The Animus Hub will be split into a number of sections, one of which will include direct paths to opening not just the main campaign of Assassin's Creed Shadows, but also other Assassin's Creed games if they're owned and downloaded on the system.There's also a "Projects" section, which will feature ongoing content including new narrative missions tied to the game's new, modern day story, with free rewards baked in for Assassin's Creed Shadows.
New content is expected to be released regularly throughout Shadows' post-launch period.Ubisoft plans to tell an ongoing story through the Animus Hub that will extend into future Assassin's Creed releases and will take place in the "near future" to facilitate that progression.
The story begins in Shadows, and is framed by longtime Assassin's Creed villainous organization Abstergo, which in the lore of the game has released a version of the Animus for public use, though the player's "version" of the Animus in the story will involve an expected touch of rebellion.While this is perhaps a bit different from what we imagined when Infinity was first discussed, it's not entirely dissimilar from what Activision has been doing with Call of Duty, whose hub serves as a platform tying battle royale Warzone to whatever the latest Call of Duty is.You can catch up on our recent preview of Assassin's Creed Shadows.