When Assassin’s Creed Shadows releases on March 20, it’s coming with a service platform to launch current and future games.
Dubbed the Animus Hub, Ubisoft says players can use it to access “Period 2” entries in the franchise they own and already have installed. At launch, that extends to Shadows, along with Assassin’s Creed Mirage, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, and Assassin’s Creed Origins.
According to Ubisoft, the hub will be fully integrated into Assassin’s Creed Shadows specifically and there are no plans to release a standalone version. “Period 1” games, or those released prior to Origins, will not be supported at launch.
In 2022, Ubisoft outlined plans to create a central Assassin’s Creed hub called Infinity. Enter the Animus Hub, which lets players access games via a timeline and offers free, unlockable in-game rewards. While the Hub can be played offline, a connection will be required to access certain features.
At the time, the dev team said it would make the series more discoverable and accessible. That still appears to be the aim, as Ubisoft says the Hub can help “create new opportunities to tie together the Assassin’s Creed universe, our Modern Day story, and your favorite Assassin’s Creed games.”
Launch, launch, launch
In generations past, games would have custom launchers if they were multiplayer-only and on PC. Over time, those gradually faded and gave way to storefronts that served as launchers themselves: Steam, Battle.net, Origin, and Ubisoft’s own Connect service.
Recent years have seen third-party publishers gradually de-prioritize their individual launchers in favor of Steam or the Epic Games Store. It was significant when Assassin’s Creed Valhalla came to Steam in 2022, for example, because the franchise (and Ubisoft more generally) hadn’t been on Valve’s platform in years. It was a similar story when older Call of Duty games jumped to Steam, and when Blizzard did the same with Overwatch 2 and Diablo IV.
Ahead of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6’s launch last year, a new service platform for the franchise launched that let players more easily access specific titles, and helped cut down on the file size that came with annual Warzone updates. Party game developer Jackbox has also established a unified game library to make access less of a hassle on Steam.
Ubisoft hasn’t shared how the Animus Hub will affect PC players–particularly those on Steam.
More information on the Animus Hub and its features at launch can be read here.