Launching with Assassin’s Creed Shadows on March 20 this year is something called The Animus Hub. Though, technically, it’s launching ‘in’ Shadows – it still looks exactly how I thought it would.
Previously referred to as ‘Assassin‘s Creed Infinity’, it’s a hub for the series built to be a dedicated home for the modern-day storyline – something that has, at times, sat awkwardly in between the main adventure in the historical periods – but also serves as a place to start games from too.
Now I’ve seen it during my visit to Ubisoft Quebec to go hands-on with Shadows, I can tell you that it does indeed do those things as well as offer a place to acquire new in-game content and missions, as well as receive rewards including new weapons and gear.
The result is something of a hybrid between a game launcher and a companion app that throws up new missions and content regularly as well as serves as a codex for the in-game universe.
Housing and telling the story through the Hub
Ubisoft clearly sees the Hub as a natural home for the modern-day story of the series and wanted to address the role of the Animus, making it a central point of the series. Franchise Producer, Andrée-Anne Boisvert, says a driving force for the creation of the Animus Hub has been to “shine a light on the Animus itself and to explore why it has been such a pivotal storytelling tool over the years”.
Diving deeper, Ben Swinden, a Creative Director at Ubisoft adds that “The Animus has always been at the center of our stories. It provides this window through which our characters are able to interact and view the historical contexts. It’s also been a tool that has allowed us to create connections between the past and the present. With Shadows, we’re taking this opportunity to move the modern-day story forward. To do this, we’re moving the story into the near future. This is going to allow us to explore a new version of the Animus that has a much wider-reaching impact on the world that our modern-day story takes place in.”
Thus, not only is it a place for the modern-day story, but there’s going to be new narratives to get into and brand-new lore for fans to soak up. Swinden continues by setting up the modern-day context and the latest move by Abstergo: “The Animus Ego is the latest product from Abstergo, and it’s the result of years of research. It’s finally a version of the Animus that’s being put into the hands of everyone…and a device that says it can make you into the best version of yourself that you can be. At least, that’s what Abstergo is telling you.
“Our journey, however, begins in the Dark Animus. This is a hacked version of the Animus ego that’s providing us access to genetic memories that Abstergo never wanted you to have access to.” While it has spiraled somewhat at times, as someone who has a bit of a soft spot for the modern-day Assassin’s Creed plot, this has me very intrigued.
Four pillars of the Animus Hub
As well as housing the new modern-day story the setup of the Animus Hub is split into four distinct parts.
The first is called Memories. This is the game selection aspect where you can choose any of the more modern games (from 2017’s Origins onwards). Upon selecting each adventure you get a brief overview of the game and setting before choosing, or not, to dive straight in from the Hub.
I asked Ubisoft whether this meant that Shadows could display my progress in Origins, for example, but the devs clarified that “retroactive tracking of progress in other Period 2 titles (Assassin’s Creed Mirage, Valhalla, Odyssey, and Origins) is not currently supported.“
However, Ubisoft did add that “Memories will track your latest Assassin’s Creed Shadows progress, regardless of the platform you play on; cross-platform progression is supported in Assassin’s Creed Shadows” which seems to mean that you could be playing two different versions of Shadows on two different platforms and have the Hub display your cross-platform progress.
Presumably, practically speaking, the act of launching another of the games you own from the Hub is something that will most likely be possible on platforms where you have them installed and ready to play. I.e. on PC, or if you own the games digitally on PS5 and Xbox Series X or Series S.
I asked how this would manifest for someone like myself who owns a PS4 disc copy of Origins and Odyssey when trying to launch from the Hub in my PS5 copy of Shadows. In response, Ubisoft said “the Animus Hub can launch all Period 2 titles installed on your system. If your Period 2 owned title is on disc, you will be prompted to insert your disc prior to launching your copy of the game.”
It appears that Ubisoft will invest in the Hub and grow it with and around every future release, too.
Next is Projects. These are in-game missions in Shadows, called Anomalies. When I asked Ubisoft about whether these would be coming to the older titles too to incorporate them further into the Hub, I was told that “at launch, the ‘Anomalies’ missions found within the Projects feature exist and are playable only in Assassin’s Creed Shadows. The Animus Hub will continue to evolve going forward, with new features and content rolling out in the years to come.”
Completing these within Shadows will unlock rewards such as weapons, gear, data files (presumably just some extra lore), and keys.
Keys appear to be the Animus Hub’s own currency and can be spent on (or ‘used to acquire’ as Ubisoft describes it) in-game items and rewards in the third part of the Hub, the Exchange, which is essentially a shop and the next series-entry-agnostic version of something like Reda’s Shop with items cycling in and out daily and weekly. These items will be available to use immediately in Shadows after acquisition.
When I asked about whether real-world money can be used to buy keys, Ubisoft told me that “Animus Keys cannot be purchased with real world currency. Keys must be earned by completing Anomalies within the Projects feature.”
The reply went on to say “All rewards available in the Animus Hub will be entirely free and unlocked simply by playing missions in the game. Players will also have access to regular content updates and new missions at no extra cost.”
Lastly, there’s the Vault. This appears to be the core element of the Hub aimed at continuing the modern-day story and offering fans of that part of the series a place to deep dive into it.
As one of those fans, I’m really intrigued as to how effective this is and what kind of narrative storytelling can be accomplished here, especially when linking it back to the historic adventures that make the series what it is. I hope it’s not a way of compartmentalizing the modern-day storylines so totally that it becomes tossed aside, as it remains at the core of the brand’s and series’ identity.
Looking the part
Overall, The Animus Hub looks pretty much exactly like I thought it would, and feels very much like the kind of launcher-come-app that Ubisoft would make for its flagship series. It even looks exceptionally Animus-y too, with an aesthetic that’s immediately recognizable as modern-day Assassin’s Creed.
I only saw its very first iteration, though. The promo video went on to say “in the months and years to come, The Animus Hub will continue to evolve and grow far beyond Shadows launch and the next AC games, with new features, new content, and new rewards.” So, it appears that Ubisoft will invest in the Hub and grow it with and around every future release, too.
Ubisoft has told me that, despite my initial instinct that it would be heading toward being a launcher, “the Animus Hub is fully integrated into Assassin’s Creed Shadows and is planned to be integrated in all Assassin’s Creed titles going forward. We don’t currently have plans for a stand-alone launcher.“
Color me intrigued, and I’m looking forward to seeing how it evolves and what role it can play in the series.