With Ubisoft announcing that the upcoming Assassin's Creed title, Assassin's Creed Infinity will be a live-service game, fans were not too happy about it. Many of them were already disappointed with the action-RPG direction the series has taken in recent years and after the recent Infinity news, a lot of AC enthusiasts claimed to have reached their tipping point, swearing to abandon the franchise once and for all.
While turning Assassin's Creed into a live-service game wasn't on anybody's wishlists, writing the series off might be a little premature. A massive, regularly updated title has the potential of expanding upon some of the franchise's most beloved settings, as well as having players visit some brand new areas that they have begged Ubisoft to include in Assassin's Creed for years now. Infinity gives Ubisoft the chance to make the fanbase's wishes come true by adding some of the most desired settings to the game in each individual update. The best part? They would all be combined in one, massive Assassin's Creed title.
10 Jerusalem
If the developers of Assassin's Creed Infinity are planning to revisit any of the settings that have already been shown in previous Assassin's Creed games, then recreating Jerusalem needs to be their first priority. Some fans outright called for a remake of the first Assassin's Creed to feature in Infinity, but there are other options that could be equally enticing.
For example, the plotline could follow the events that transpired after the conclusion of the first game and follow Altair's adventures after he's taken over the Masyaf Brotherhood. Alternatively, the writers could create a prequel, detailing Al-Mualim's (the first game's main antagonist) rise to power and eventual betrayal of the Creed's values. The possibilities are endless, and as long as the Holy Land remains at the centerpiece, it would turn out to be a certain hit.
9 Rome
Assassin's Creed Brotherhood did a remarkable job showcasing Renaissance Rome by setting the second entry to the Ezio Auditore trilogy in the Eternal City. Infinity's developers could go back even further into the past and set one of their storylines in Ancient Rome, at the height of the Roman Empire's power.
Another interesting direction Ubisoft could follow is Italy during the reunification period. Times of political turmoil have always made for great Assassin's Creed backdrops and the plot to make Italy whole again would be the perfect excuse for the franchise to revisit Rome at a more modern time.
8 A Modern-Day Metropolis
Players had a chance to get a taste of what modern-day Assassin's Creed parkour would feel like in Assassin's Creed 3, in a sequence where Desmond Miles was tasked with scaling an unfinished New York City skyscraper in order to find a power source. Unfortunately, this was the franchise's first and final attempt at a modern-day, big-city parkour sequence.
Given that Infinity would take place in multiple settings, across various storylines, there is nothing stopping Ubisoft from adding a short, DLC-length questline set in a 21st-century megacity, such as New York, Tokyo, or London. It would liven up the modern-day storyline that has felt a bit stale ever since the conclusion of Desmond's arc back in Assassin's Creed 3.
7 Ancient China
Asian settings, particularly ancient China, have been topping the Assassin's Creed fanbase's wishlists for years now. The brief AC: Chronicles platformer set in the 1500s did not cut it. Players clearly want a new, open-world Assassin's Creed game set hundreds, if not thousands of years ago in a China ruled by imperial dynasties, so why not give it to them when Infinity rolls around?
There is plenty of potential for throwing the classic "Assassins vs. Templars" conflict into the plotline, as China in the olden days was plagued by court intrigue, civil wars, as well as large-scale military conflicts with foreign powers. Witnessing the Great Wall being built? Navigating through the torn-apart country during the Warring States period? Fending off a Mongol invasion? The options are endless, and ancient Chinese history and mythology perfectly fit into the direction the Assassin's Creed franchise has gone into in the last three entries.
6 Feudal Japan
Another Asian setting that many have been crying out for, feudal Japan has been a dream of AC players ever since the end of the Ezio Trilogy. Unfortunately, as years went by, this setting has become less and less likely, especially with the release of the masterfully realized Ghost of Tsushima in 2020.
The live-service model of Infinity means that hopes for a feudal Japan setting in Assassin's Creed could be revitalized. After all, it could be thrown in as a smaller map with a short sequence that's part of a larger update. However Ubisoft wants to go about it, they should at least give it a shot, if only to let players experience playing as an Assassin in medieval Japan.
5 South America
Art piece uploaded by u/TheFishmael.
There was a time when rumors of an Assassin's Creed title set in colonial Brazil were spread across the internet. Unfortunately, they turned out to be false, and fans are yet to step into the shoes of a Latin American Assassin. With a rich (though largely unexplored in popular culture) mythology and history, the Mayan, Aztec, or Inca empires could prove to be very original settings for a game that takes pride in providing the most faithful renditions of ancient history.
Players could witness the fall of the Maya empire or witness its Golden Age. Another good plotline could be the Inca empire struggling to survive the European invasion in the 15th century. There are plenty of untold stories pertaining to the great civilizations of Latin America, and Assassin's Creed Infinity is the perfect platform to right that wrong.
4 Colonial Africa
The subject of colonization and the Scramble for Africa would be very tricky subjects to tackle by a video game, but there is no better video game franchise than Assassin's Creed to handle a difficult historical period.
The Assassins/Templar division is clear in this case, and the player characters could help the locals fight off the invading European powers. Historically, about 90% of the entire continent ended up colonized, while Liberia and Ethiopia remained independent throughout this period, making these countries the perfect candidates for potential Assassin strongholds.
3 Europe During The Spring Of Nations
2014's Assassin's Creed Unity showed that the franchise is not afraid to tackle the subject of revolution and mass upheavals in its entries. Despite being overwhelmingly buggy at launch, the updates and hotfixes that followed its release date have proven that Ubisoft can also handle including massive crowds in their games.
The 1848 Spring of Nations, one of the most formative periods in European history, could be the perfect follow-up to Unity's revolution-themed plotline. The fact that it was actually a series of revolutions and uprisings across multiple European nations also plays perfectly into Infinity's live-service, update-based model.
2 Ancient Mesopotamia
Not to advocate taking textures and models from previous games and reusing them in new releases, but Ubisoft developers could have a field day doing just that when creating the ancient Mesopotamia-set Assassin's Creed Infinity update. 3D models used in Origins would fit right in.
In all seriousness, though, the main reason why Mesopotamia is such a great setting for a potential Assassin's Creed game (or update) is the fact that it is the cradle of civilization, as well as the birthplace of all Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam). It would be the most fitting setting for a plotline tying up the loose ends between the modern-day and historical storylines, as well as a deeper dive into the fall of the Isu civilization.
1 The Caribbean
Not including a pirate-themed Caribbean update in Infinity would be a huge mistake on Ubisoft's part. Plenty of AC fans consider Black Flag to be the best game in the franchise so far and a return to the Caribbean Sea would bring back a lot of players who grew disillusioned with the series in recent years.
The early 17th century, widely regarded as the heyday of piracy in the Caribbean would be a great period to explore, but the earlier period of colonial disputes that enabled pirates to run rampant across the region is also a feasible choice.