10 Times Assassin's Creed BETRAYED Its Own Fans

10 Times Assassins Creed BETRAYED Its Own Fans

Welcome to MojoPlays, and today we’re looking at 10 times Ubisoft betrayed the fans of its flagship series, Assassin’s Creed. Spoilers for almost every entry ahead, so watch at your own peril!

Last-Gen Only

“Assassin's Creed Rogue” (2014)

In 2014, Rogue was only released on last-gen consoles, but Unity was released on the same day for the newer generation. This decision disappointed fans, because Rogue was unplayable on their new hardware. Either they had to keep an older console, buy one, or just wait until a remastered version became available. For those who chose the latter, they would be waiting until 2018, when Ubisoft finally released a remaster for newer consoles. Rogue also had an interesting narrative, however it was designed for older hardware, meaning it lacked the technical improvements of Unity. This sent the message that it was a “secondary” game, despite fans believing it had the potential to be as good as Unity, or even better.

Fake Season Pass

“Assassin's Creed Valhalla” (2020)

At release, Ubisoft sold a misleading “Season Pass” for Valhalla. Many assumed it would include all the DLC, but instead, it was only some of the DLCs. Dawn of Ragnarok, one of the most anticipated additions, was irritatingly not included in the pass. After spending almost 40 dollars on the pass and even more on the game, this still wasn’t enough to get everything, another 40 dollars was needed for Dawn of Ragnarok. In total, to buy Valhalla and all its content would be roughly $140. This felt like a cash grab to most players, leading them to feel taken advantage of, and their trust betrayed, especially since previous entries did include all the content in their season passes.

Shift From Stealth

“Assassin's Creed Origins” (2017)

Originally, stealth was an integral part of the franchise’s core mechanics, but in Origins, the focus shifted towards direct combat and RPG elements, with stealth being sidelined. While the RPG elements were praised for their innovation, and for refreshing an almost ten-year-old series, fans felt the series had lost its distinctness, and became too similar to games like The Witcher 3 or Skyrim, sacrificing its unique elements. Many players adored the new direction of Origins, but some longtime fans felt alienated, missing the stealth, parkour, and precision assassinations of prior entries. The fanbase became divided, with previously loyal fans giving up on the series entirely.

Whatever Happened to Juno?

Assassin’s Creed III was the series’ fifth entry, which sought to resolve Desmond’s plotline, introduced in the first game. After five years of build-up, the conclusion was disappointing, to say the least. Desmond is the central protagonist, and his arc ends with him sacrificing himself to stop the apocalypse, but in doing so releases Juno. The game ends on a cliffhanger, but whatever happened to Juno, the newly established villain? You will have to read the comics to find out, which are unknown to most fans. Many hoped for a more satisfying conclusion to the game, but were instead given a hollow cliffhanger ending, which tied together little from the previous games, and was barely delivered upon.

Being a “Return to Roots”

“Assassin's Creed Mirage” (2023)

Mirage was heavily marketed as a “return to roots”, with Ubisoft promising it would bring back the classic stealth, parkour, and assassination-focused gameplay of earlier titles. Longtime fans were excited by this prospect, particularly the ones who were disinterested in the RPG trilogy. Unfortunately, a lot of fans felt it didn’t live up to these promises. It made considerable effort to return to form, but it still retained the RPG mechanics and open-world design choices of the recent games. As such, it felt like what it was originally intended to be - just another Valhalla DLC. This combination of old-school and modern elements felt like a compromise, instead of a genuine “return to roots”.

Lucy’s Dark Secret

“Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood” (2010) & “Assassin’s Creed: Revelations” (2011)

Lucy was widely regarded as the best character in the modern-day storyline, who upsettingly died at the end of Brotherhood. She was a mentor to Desmond, being portrayed as a sympathetic, strong, and trusted ally to him. Unfortunately, in the Lost Archive DLC for Revelations, it was revealed that she had secretly been a Templar triple agent all along. The decision to reveal this plot twist in a DLC, alongside not at all foreshadowing it, felt like a stab in the gut to most fans. Additionally, the games barely explore Desmond’s emotions regarding her death and betrayal, making the twist feel even more hollow. Relegating her betrayal and backstory to a DLC felt like a disservice to both the character, and the fans.

The Helix Store

“Assassin's Creed Unity” (2014)

Unity introduced a new online shop, where players could purchase in-game items for real money. This was the Helix Store, and represented a shift towards Ubisoft favoring exploitative and intrusive monetization strategies. In-game progression was deliberately slowed down, motivating players to purchase XP boosters from the store. This was outrageous to a lot of players, who had already spent money on the game and were now expected to spend more to have an optimal gaming experience. Some of the best-looking gear was locked behind the paywall, as opposed to earlier entries, where they were all unlocked from in-game challenges. Fans were now starting to realize Ubisoft cared more about money, rather than delivering a complete, standalone experience.

Missing Sequences

“Assassin’s Creed II” (2009)

Two entire memory sequences were removed from Assassin’s Creed 2 - 12 and 13. Instead, the narrative just jumped from Sequence 11 straight to 14, with only a vague explanation that they were ‘corrupted’. This gave the impression that the game was deliberately released incomplete, and that you had to pay to unlock essential moments in the story. It disrupted the game’s narrative, and went against the fan’s reasonable wishes of receiving a full product. Relegating core content to DLC felt like a violation of the implicit contract between the developer and the players. This was the first time Ubisoft seemed to prioritize money over releasing a finished game, and it definitely wouldn’t be the last.

Having a Buggy Launch

“Assassin's Creed Unity” (2014)

Unity was highly anticipated in 2014, as Assassin’s Creed was a franchise that then had a strong track record of quality games. Set during the French Revolution, fans expected an immersive historical experience, but it was almost impossible to feel that upon release. It was plagued with bugs and glitches, such as graphical issues making faces disappear, character models disappearing, and constant crashes, severely impacting its playability. The poor release state seriously hampered the game’s reputation, and despite it being relatively stable now, after some seriously delayed updates, the damage has already been done. Fans with high expectations of exploring revolutionary Paris felt nothing but betrayed, with consumers still hesitating to buy a Ubisoft game at release, in case they repeat the same mistake.

Desmond’s Death

“Assassin’s Creed III” (2012)

Ultimately, deciding to kill off the game’s central protagonist was the series’ biggest betrayal. Its effects can still be felt in the most recent entries, which are still struggling to figure out a direction for the modern-day plotline. His story was built up with significant intrigue, and tied together all the historical plots with the modern ones. Desmond’s fate was sealed with little honor, feeling like it was done just to quickly resolve his arc, and avoid giving him the send-off he deserved. Now, the modern-day plotline is one of the most hated elements of the franchise, and few fans bother to invest themselves in it, worried their investment wouldn’t be rewarded with any meaningful or satisfying conclusions.