It’s part of its plan for lots of open-world titles
Next-generation consoles may have already abandoned their plans for required online connections, but Ubisoft hasn’t necessarily. Its short-term strategy gravitates toward open-world games, and with that comes the supposed need for constant Internet connections.
Julian Gerighty, a creative director at Ubisoft, told Polygon about the company’s creative process. According to Gerighty, every Ubisoft title has a meeting with the editorial department, which helps to highlight systems that may work best for the game. Right now, this department is deeply passionate about open-world experiences. It’s the reason that the likes of Assassin’s Creed IV, Watch Dogs, and Tom Clancy’s The Divisionwill all share similar open-world characteristics.
Alongside the enthusiastic drive toward open-world games comes the company’s aspiration of blending the single- and multiplayer experiences, which more or less will require a constant Internet connection. Gerighty believes that this is the way to achieve “open, living worlds,” and that the entire industry will move in this direction soon enough.
Maybe Ubisoft genuinely believes that players want always online games. Regardless of if that’s true or not, it’s increasingly obvious that even if Sony and Microsoft won’t enforce requiring a constant Internet connection, the publishers will.
Why Ubisoft thinks gamers will want always-online games [Polygon]