Last month, Ubisoft announced significant cuts and the cancellation of six games, including the Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake. At the time, there were no indications that Assassin’s Creed franchise was in danger of losing any games in development, but a new report indicates that Assassin’s Creed multiplayer game has now been canceled as well.
According to French gaming site Origami, the project in question was given the codename Assassin’s Creed League, and it would have allowed up to four players to work together on assassinations. AC League reportedly grew out of DLC originally created for Assassin’s Creed Shadows, and may have also been set in the same era of Japanese history.
The game was said to be in development at Ubisoft Annecy, the studio that created the multiplayer modes for Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood, Assassin’s Creed Unity, and Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag. Origami’s report indicates that this cancellation is separate from the six titles that were swept away in January’s cutbacks.
Ubisoft’s remaining employees are said to be feeling “anger and despair” over the layoffs that accompanied the cancellations, including the 70 developers fired from Ubisoft Halifax. At least one developer who criticized Ubisoft’s return-to-office mandate has been fired. In response, Ubisoft’s French unions are calling for a three-day work strike from February 10 to 12 and demanding that CEO Yves Guillemot resign. The leaked recording of an internal town Ubisoft hall meeting didn’t do much to lift morale and left some employees questioning their place in the future of the company.