 What's up, everybody? I'm the hook and I'm the blade and together. Well, you know Welcome to the hook blade infinity a regularly updating live audio service and content delivery platform Bringing capital C content directly to your ears every single Actually come to think of it that joke would probably be funnier if the show wasn't still canceled which it is Sorry guys. Anyway, hook blade was a show about all things Assassin's Creed Now it's like the opposite of a live service. It's it's a dead service It's an unlive surface Tim, how you doing man? I'm all right. How are you? You're all right. I am feeling some would say infinitely worse Was before But I do have a couple notes at the top of the motherfucking show, baby your favorite thing Yeah, so you might be wondering What this is because we did cancel the show in the last episode. It is still canceled We're not coming back regularly, but we did kind of just want to talk about this Assassin's Creed Infinity bullshit and we also wanted to talk a bit about the actual situation at Ubisoft as far as the allegations go not that we haven't talked about it before but we kind of haven't Really drilled into it because this is supposed to be more of a, you know Lighthearted show than to talk about a serious issue But it feels like the appropriate time in the context, especially of this new game that they've announced There are some things that we'd like to say about it before all is said and done so we're gonna start by talking about what Assassin's Creed infinity supposedly is and Then we're gonna talk about some of the people involved in it and what the word on the street is with those scumbags Yeah, so so we got our first glimpse at the future of Assassin's Creed recently Tim Tell me tell me a little bit about what is supposed to happen with the next Assassin's Creed to game Yeah, so In the like kind of the original like I get like Bloomberg leak, I guess you could say which is a little bit more It's not shy with with with details as Ubisoft is with with their article So in terms of the Bloomberg article, it's suggesting that it's gonna be like this live service that is updated regularly and In the follow-up tweets that Jason Shrier put out Regarding it, you know, he was specifying that it's a few years out and That both Montreal and Quebec were merging on this project and that Quebec is kind of taking lead of the series That is confirmed within the Ubisoft article that they posted themselves, right? But the thing that they had left out is the whole live service stuff, but that's probably true, correct? Like yeah, so a real quick note about that that I wanted to talk about because I wanted to like You know sort of pose the question at some point like why do we think? Ubisoft made this press release. It's a little bit unlike Ubisoft to outright Confirm leaks this way. This is kind of I mean they've done this before but This is a surprising move. Is it not yeah? I mean I want to say this is the first time they've ever done it because when like the victory screenshots came out They didn't follow that up with like hey guys welcome to Assassin's Creed victory. You know what I mean? Yeah, I mean even confirming the codename like that yeah more Definitely more transparent than I would expect and here's my theory for the exact reason why this happened I think it has everything to do with the term live service I think once that Bloomberg leak went out Ubisoft correctly knew that no matter what the content of the actual leak was They they could have told us every detail under the sun about it down to the hair color of the protagonist and all people would have cared About is the term is the phrase live service. So Ubisoft. I think wanted to control the narrative a little bit By focusing their own press release Which will immediately have a bit more clout given that it's from Ubisoft and it's official. It's confirmed There's no speculation They can say well here's what we actually want you to focus on we want you to focus on how Coherent and focused our vision for the brand is going to be because we have a plan now There's an executive producer everything is going to be so nice and so prepared We are just going to be Choo-choo train spoon feeding Assassin's Creed content directly into your little mouth holes and it's going to be delightful That's what I feel like they want us to think they don't want us to think we're going to be nickled and dimed for Microtransactions in a live service clusterfuck extravaganza. Do you think do you think that the Bloomberg articles usage of live service is perhaps a little too? The wits on tip my tongue a little too Damn it god damn a little too I guess God damn it Is literally on the tip of my dick someone help him out someone help him out a Little too okay, fuck it. I'm just gonna start a new sentence Do you think that the usage of live service is not exactly? How it is going to be do you think it's gonna be a little bit? But maybe more linear than that article that's on or do you think it's it's gonna be a live service And they just don't want you to know it yet Well, I think that it's gonna be a live service in the sense that Ubisoft making this project and dumping the amount of resources into it that they are only makes sense if they believe they can monetize and exploit this game Significantly more so than they have past titles So I definitely think it is going to be a live service in a significant way But there certainly is with that term a worst case and a best case scenario, right? so like And in fact, there are even things that could totally surprise us like What if this is a primarily multiplayer title, you know, that would be Cuz because every single example that's listed of live services that this game could even be competing with our Fundamentally online multiplayer experiences Fortnite GTA 5 Obviously GTA 5 has a single player. Maybe that will be the case for infinity as well, but You're not as likely to spend money on microtransactions and single player as you are in multiplayer. They've definitely Yeah Earned their keep as far as like people have been spending money on the single-player microtransactions But I think making this game is a sign of their belief that a change like that You know making a strong multiplayer component Let's say will allow them to make even more money because it would I mean Psychologically that just makes sense we are going to spend the money on the outfit if we think other people will see us in the outfit and That's how with like gunskins and CS go or fucking fortnite skins Become viable is because they become status symbols in the games economy, right? Right. Yeah, all that is intuitive all that makes sense. So worst case scenario I guess is that Assassin's Creed infinity is some sort of horrendous battle royale online Garbagey bullshit. I mean It it would be appealing to think that like oh they could just make you know The old-school multiplayer into an online free-to-play Fun times, but that would not be the thing they're doing by literally grafting Montreal and Quebec together and and putting all of their resources towards it that game isn't Gonna be that game, you know what I mean Yeah, I mean if I had to guess I would say that this is It's I would I think it's gonna have both. I think it's gonna have a multiplayer function. Yeah, and a single-player function that may not be Lovely Like this is the time for multiplayer to come back to the series. Yeah through this kind of a title that like and You know and in the boomberg article, you know They compared to things like GTA 5 online or just GTA online. That's what they call it and so that is still being updated with things to this day and People are still buying it and people are still playing it. So if they can have that and also Continuously like update with single-player experiences, then I guess in their mind They are keeping the best of both worlds, but that's also not what that is Unfortunately, I think that the problem they're gonna run into is Because I'm expecting a multiplayer component while there would probably be something like the classic multiplayer there also has to just be some sort of Open persistent world free roam thing for it to work the way maybe it's like five seventy six maybe Well, hope not. I mean that that that's kind of a that's honestly probably a decent Comparison to like a classically single-player game. Yeah shoved in an online function Yeah, so maybe there's something like that like perhaps every year you get a new setting and you can go parkour with your friends around And it and do missions and stuff like I'm it could be Kind of like parkour from unity, but instead of like only four people perhaps they could do like up the 10 or something I don't know. Yeah, I think the issue that we're gonna run into with this is that The core gameplay verbs of Assassin's Creed to whatever extent there are any anymore as far as you know, the last few games have gone they don't in my experience from what I've seen tend to Apply well in a multiplayer context like the things you want to do, you know, let's say fighting in combat You know, I is that experience is combat significantly enhanced by having a friend doing it with you I don't know parkouring is fun with friends in unity. Lord knows that back in the unity launch window We and our friends spent hours just dicking around in Paris on on voice chat and that was fun Mm-hmm, and it can be fun, you know if modernized, but is It going to keep people for a whole game? No, the novelty will wear off pretty quickly with something like that and so what comes to be the like actual The actual concern for me with live service Assassin's Creed beyond the already just pants shitting inducing factor of the phrase live service, right is Okay for the last three games What's been the big boogeyman that we've all blamed our problems on RPG mechanics, right? Right, and everyone knows the RPG mechanics are there to incentivize micro transactions So the question becomes in order to incentivize a live service gameplay loop something that will Deliberately keep people invested in playing and coming back over and over and over again for years and years at a time what is going to be The the sacrifice and the change that they make to the gameplay in order to actually accomplish that like the stealth disappear completely You know as parkour still gone like How much of the Assassin's Creed experience has to be compromised even further than it already has In order to have a viable live service product. I don't know the answer to that question, but I suspect it's gonna be bad I just don't know what this with what Assassin's Creed infinity looks like if it doesn't have some kind of multiplayer Function to it like I agree. So I'd have to think that Because I've played GTM line quite a bit You know back of the day when it had first come out and like the single-player and multiplayer Experiences were so separate like I never Really was choosing one over the other when I was done with the single player of GTA 5 I would just do on I would just do online and so How they're gonna make that a cohesive experience? I don't know perhaps the answer is they don't make it a cohesive experience but yeah, if you consider RPG mechanics and That's got to play in if they're if they're sticking around just seems like they are that's gonna have to play into The multiplayer function like you know leveling up with your friends getting gear with your friends like that's got to be a part of it so Perhaps you have more experience with this like I've never I haven't quite played games Like I guess they I guess I'm kind of teetering on describing an MMO. Mm-hmm like Games that are focused on like leveling and gear and whatnot But also have that cooperative element like I feel like that's majority of MMOs. Have you ever played any MMOs? I have played some MMOs not in a while, but the thing with MMOs. It's very apparent is they'll be simplified to one or two really like core mechanics whether it's shooting or some sort of turn-based combat and then almost every gameplay interaction you have will be built around that one thing and You know, there'll be an element of teamwork that's encouraged and and and fostered this past trilogy to that's what I felt Like was happening like the verbs with which The ways in which you interact with the game Became very simple building blocks simple gameplay pillars For the sake of generating the massive amounts of content that they wanted in these games So like if you create origins and you want to have a map the size of Egypt and it be full of forts and missions to do That's much easier when the only ways you can interact with anything in the world are Stealth and combat, you know when you don't have to design areas For the sake of fluid or crafted parkour routes, for instance, that is a layer of complexity that they remove for the sake of creating more content, right and MMOs that's certainly necessary because the the world needs to be scalable that the the way that I'm rambling at this point, but I think you catch my drift, right. I think what's most likely is That there will be some means by which assassins creed infinity I think it'll start with a game that has a single-player campaign I think the first, you know, the the assassins creed infinity that launches will have a world a setting in a single-player campaign within that and Also a multiplayer mode that is somewhat open world with the possibility that the single-player campaign has Multi-player missions or missions that other players can drop into this fallout 76 Does fallout 76 have any kind of single-player mode? No fallout 76 at launch didn't even have any NPCs So there were story missions But you did them all with other players and the only way story content was delivered to you was by like notes or audio Diaries and things like that environmental story. So could you imagine a fallout 76 and That has the multiplayer function that it has that also has like a typical fallout campaign I can because it kind of exists now in the sense of like they did an expansion I think it's come out. It was called like fallout 76 Wastelanders or something And they were like, actually, you know what NPCs are kind of a good idea to have in a video game So I guess that kind of exists now and I can also see conversely Taking a game like fallout 4 and just being like alright It's multiplayer now like that would have been easy too. So like do I think you could take an assassin's creed game like Origins Odyssey Valhalla for instance and Drop other players in it and you do you do missions together? Yeah, I think you could and it would be okay Yeah, I I feel like for as as much as we kind of hear life service I mean here this article and we're like well guys assassin's creed is gone forever Yeah, and like you know and I mean we've kind of already been there by like a lot of people I feel like yeah for a lot of people. This is the last straw apparently. Yeah, like As if the past events have not been I guess I mean, there are a lot of people playing Valhalla every single day doing daily quests and completing weekly challenges A lot of them are my fellow moderators. I'm sorry if you're listening. I don't know what the fuck is wrong with you Just stop just stop playing that's done. You've played everything They will sit there and assassinate the the fucking The dummy on the base 50 times to get it. I don't know a sword or something. I don't get it You know, I could you know destiny destiny is probably not a bad example of some of the trajectory that this could go to Right. I mean that's the thing destiny is a live service that by some miracle has actually Seemingly succeeded. I know a lot of people who really like it. I'm not enough a shooter guy to get into it But you know, it's proof that there are live services that aren't marvels Avengers, you know Yeah, and they're like I mean I played the destiny one very early on none of the expansions But like there were cutscenes and stuff like there was there was a skeleton of a story You know, I've and I I've heard that, you know The other destiny expansions in games do more of that All I'm saying is like these last few games have very much felt like single-player MMOs with the way that they present and Manage things so it makes sense that now We're gonna get actual MMO more or less Like I feel like a lot of people Are hearing live service using that article and while not directly confirmed, you know We can we can start to formulate what that is gonna mean But for as like confident as we all are in terms of like that's gonna suck assassin's creed over cancel dignity gone I I gotta say though I at least feel like there is a level of Like what are they going to do because they're merging two studios and And and think you think about how huge Valhalla is as a game Like obviously that's not made just by one studio alone They have a lot of of of supplemental help from other studios But to utilize two studios on this on this one project. I mean, it's going to be a huge game no matter what But that's really that's probably it's probably going to have more manpower behind it And I might be wrong about this then, you know, you're typical fall out 76 or elder scrolls online Oh, you're actually completely right about that Bethesda games employ shockingly few people in comparison to the rest of the industry Well, there you go so like I feel like That alone is is it will make it like a bigger experience than than those games and so I just I I I don't want to say like i'm curious, but I I can't say that I am so Beyond confident like what this is going to look like because yeah, it's also considered like outer scrolls online Is not replacing Skyrim. It's it's it's a another game if this is replacing Assassin's Creed In terms of like the Assassin's Creed as we know it That it's it's gotta like be some kind of unique hybrid to to those other games I talked about, you know, it would hopefully still be kind of Assassin's Creed in some way I Yeah, I and let me just say for the record. I wasn't expecting you to be the relatively optimistic one in this episode But I do want to point out just like I think this is a worthwhile observation If we imagine an alternate scenario in which Jason scryer had not used the word live service, but had retained many other details outside of the You know abusive workplace stuff I think people would actually be kind of excited for this because What's one thing we've been asking for for years and years and years It's for them to have a plan for multiple games That does not get immediately trashed because they give the Franchise to another studio the following year and they want to do something completely different We've been asking for that forever. They know that too. And that's why they put that front and center in their press release We would be really excited that There is an executive producer for the Assassin's Creed franchise now There's someone overseeing the entire property and they will have a long-term plan With storytelling goals of some sort that don't immediately Crash and burn because they can't possibly organize a long-term story That sounds good And it's necessary when you want to be a property that has a live-action Netflix series and Everything else that they want to have like there's a reason the trans media hasn't been hitting hard It's because There's no Story overarching to kind of hook us in and make us want to explore those different Settings and those different media, you know, they could actually create that with this but Then we have to consider the fact that it's a live service And the baggage that comes with that term and suddenly it's not so exciting of a prospect anymore that alone just undercuts it So significantly I mean I I completely agree with you because I actually had like the only note that I wrote for the show What or for this episode was that pretty much like cut out of the article where ubisoft is talking about how like You know instead of passing the torch just you know between studios every time We we wanted to have a more cohesive approach to the development and like if you had told me that in 2014 I'd be like Assassin's Creed is back, baby. It's here to stay You know and it's so it's so unfortunate that like this is the form that that is taking like Just just just as you said the whole live service prospect of that is awful If they had just said like yeah, if you just take if you just took out live service from all of that There is a lot of exciting possibilities. Also something I wanted to mention It's funny when you look at the ubisoft article because In terms of like what I get from it It's very much like this is what's next for Assassin's Creed Like yeah, like this is like this is what is coming after the vahala content is is is done and and like this This is what we're cooking up. So just in in your opinion. Does that Deflate any possibility for another normal quote normal Assassin's Creed game to come out after All this vahala content is done and before unity or sorry before infinity Or do you think that we are getting infinity next and that's it? Some what it does and the reason why is I feel like it would be a bad move For them to say Here's the future of Assassin's Creed. This is what we're doing next And also this coming summer. Please be sure to buy The game that isn't good for all the reasons the next one will be you know what I mean I I agree with you It's like at first I thought okay three years out That's that that's a little while and They have to like and and given all this talk that we've had about rumors and what the next game is going to be and Supposed leaks and whatnot. Yeah, I was thinking to myself It's going to be kind of strange if we don't get an Assassin's Creed game for that long But now that Ubisoft has gotten ahead of it and and and did that whole show about this is what's next for Assassin's Creed I I'm I'm thinking it's much less likely now and I'm kind of where you're at with it Where I think infinity is what we're getting next and and so But isn't that also interesting because that means at least two years without an Assassin's Creed game. Yeah, um, definitely We know that that third DLC rumor ended up being true, right? so they've confirmed that they're doing the Muspelheim DLC thing for Valhalla and If that section of the rumor is true We could also extrapolate that the rest of the rumor being that there was a full game and development That that team got repurposed to do a DLC instead That could also be true and then it's a question of that game probably doesn't exist anymore Who says this third DLC will be the last one? I think it's very possible that in the years between Valhalla and infinity That they come out with an expand alone Side game sort of thing like I think I think if not the one that Sophia was allegedly developing that like a $40 side game not for the immediate future so to speak but for maybe a year or two from now That there's like a game running on basically the same bones as Valhalla, but a different character Maybe a different setting ish, you know So do you do you think more of like a like a like a double a game then? Yeah, I still think that's possible I just think we're now working with a time window that allows for that more so like Before we thought it was possible. We could be getting big swing and dick next gen assassins creed as soon as 2022 But but more likely 2023 now we're talking about we know what that game is And it's not coming until 2024 at the soonest If that's the case Then I feel like the odds of a smaller thing in between there somewhere are much higher But whatever it is, I feel like will not be A full $60 game release. It'll either be A double a game or an expand alone Side game Or just a fourth fifth dlc. Fuck it. How much europe is there avor avor is conquering the goddamn planet earth in this dlc Ava is uniting all the kingdoms, dude. Every continent Avor Avor goes to Ava's gonna raid heaven She's gonna unite all of earth's earth's mightiest heroes and she's gonna raid heaven I completely agree with you. I think I think that makes total sense at that kind of trajectory and Another thing that gives a little bit of Legitimacy that jason schreyer here is he was talking about how he's been speaking to ubisoft for weeks about this particular story So like if you be obviously ubisoft's like own admission of this But like clearly I feel like what he is saying about live service Perhaps that might be too narrow of a word for him to use but he I feel like he definitely knows more about this than anyone So I trust him calling it a live service. I guess and it it just makes sense I mean we have to look at ubisoft not just from the standpoint of what their creative decision making would be but what their business decision making would be and How do you I mean they're they're always trying to up the game as far as the the monetization goes because we went from You know realizing that these micro transactions and things could work with probably unity And then ever since then it's just escalating and escalating and escalating This is the logical escalation Also I think it's a smart move like it seems like wow man. Good job ubisoft like taking three years off Yeah, good for you not I mean not not three years off But three years until the next game that is kind of a big deal if that is true the next actual game um I think Part of that strategy is to give people a break from assassin's creed just a tad And kind of let people miss it a little bit This is gonna be playing vahala. Some people are gonna be playing it every single day until infinity comes out because they're monsters, but because they're Fucking psychopaths, frankly, let's say 2024, you know fall 2024 infinity launches That they've now they've now given people a time to breathe And then it's back to like a new infinity update every year or year and a half like that feels Like ubisoft to me like they're only ever going to give you a break if it means Justifying, you know more rapid releases and we have to consider the other side of this coin too, which is that Taking that time off that's a lot of time for Those assassin's creed fans of us out there to forget about all the garbage shit that's happening behind the scenes at ubisoft You think in 2024 we're gonna be like, oh, yeah, jonathan doomont that guy throws chairs at people Holy fuck We want to segue into that or did you have more to say about the game? No, not really, um It is kind of interesting how like ubisoft is is uh kind of with with this project or are like they're kind of like nick fury forming the like shitty avengers Shitty people at ubisoft I'm building a team We're putting a team together. Have you recently licked a woman on her face? You're in Like sorry to make light of this but I mean, I mean, yeah, I mean it's Let's let's jump into it. All right. I'm gonna pull up this this tweet about how about you pull up that tweet ubisoft had investigated every allegation and took appropriate actions now Here's the thing and and there's something a lot of people are talking about here, which is that A lot of people are not talking about here, which is there is a line um a very strong line and and I want People you'll want you to hear me out on this because I'm not making excuses for anybody. I'm not justifying anything um But if people are being shitty or hostile or abusive in the workplace in a way that is Not necessarily illegal To my knowledge, uh, the hr department is not necessarily under a legal requirement uh to report or or fire that person They would just be smart to because when you have someone that abusive the odds that they eventually break the fucking law harassing somebody are Substantial But I think ubisoft thinks that they're taking calculated risks with these people because they go well Marco lexi cote and jonathan dumont, they deliver us games on time that that aren't broken and that's apparently a Difficult thing to do. I'm sure it is Uh, do I think those are the only people at ubisoft or on the planet who could do it? No I think there are probably a lot of nice people who can turn in a game on time But that seems to be the decision that they've made about their workplace Which is that they're going to put up with that kind of hostility and abusive behavior Because it gets them results or so they believe and you can tell The kind of consequences that's already having by the fact that you know jason striers reading messages on their message boards people being like It's fucked up that we still work for this guy. You know like This dude throws chairs at people like that's jonathan dumont is definitely, uh, one of the worst offenders One of the biggest offenders at ubisoft quibbeck allegedly He according to multiple sources He uses his physical presence to intimidate people. He'll slam doors. He'll punch walls. He'll throw things Verbally abusing staff members reducing some to tears Using offensive terms and homophobic slurs. He allegedly also targets women telling them how to dress or when to smile I don't want to play a game that dude made I just don't You know It's one thing that they that they've said over and over like oh, we've investigated and we've taken appropriate actions All right, but we can see that These allegations exist. They're substantiated by multiple sources And not only are they kept in the positions. They were previously in these guys are being promoted This motherfucker is in charge mark alexicote is now the executive producer of the assassins creed franchise and he stands accused of uh, essentially enabling and encouraging a lot of the predatory Harassment and behavior at ubisoft that's been reported. Uh, he's not a good dude for by all accounts You know and now he's the the top head motherfucker in charge When ubisoft is talking about how hey, we're bringing in like third party people to investigate Like do you think that they are just getting these? Do you think that well one? Do you think that's bullshit or two? Do you think that they are getting the The you know the results and they're just not firing these people because like I guess not to play devil's advocate, but I suppose but I feel like if jonathan dumont is Actually terrorizing these people as I'm not trying to say that he isn't but yeah, let's say that's happening And which you're saying like why wouldn't they just fire him right like it seems like it's like what he can do is not worth The the potential of that backfiring on them and more employees quitting and and more of this getting out You know if I had to guess I would say I think the purpose of that investigation when you get a third party to investigate you You know, it's not like you're calling the cops to show up and tell you if you've broken any laws Right, you are hiring someone to look into the you know the patterns of behavior Check out the evidence talk to witnesses talk to people who who have made these accusations and determine Uh, you know have there been fireable offenses? Is it defensible that this guy's still work here? You know, is he putting the company at risk? Is he a liability? I think what they have determined is not necessarily that he Is a good person or that he doesn't abuse his staff I think what they've determined is that he's not a liability legally for that reason Clearly whatever value that they believe this dude has outweighs what they perceive to be the risk of legal consequences or even the court of public opinion Um, because I I hate to say that this I hate to say it but You know, this is not exactly a major news story We've got our circle of assassins creed fans Yeah, um twitter constantly and that has some effect that has some impact. I'm sure But certainly valhalla which came out in the midst of the scandal more or less had a director fired Still achieved the best sales possible. We're not exactly at a level To threaten them with the court of public opinion, right? I mean, you know, I I mean, I was just thinking the same thing as to like Obviously, this shit is just like second hand to us because we've seen it in our circles And we know about it so heavily But but but the kid that's walking in the games out to buy the new assassin's creed game knows nothing about this And not every gamer reads games journalism. So any articles that do get written about it And some some people like yeah, like I I I hate like the sad truth about it is No matter How much you or I or or you know dylan and other people who are speaking out against this Talk about it. It's like until it is actually affecting numbers because it clearly isn't They're not gonna care And so I suppose that is really the answer to why keep do not around because perhaps He is a bit of a risk, but compared to How the games are still selling and how you yourself as a company is still profiting It is less Risky to get rid of him or sorry. It's less risky to not get rid of him. I would you know what I would love to see I would love to see the entire mentor skill just step away Like I would love to see Them all privately and personally agree with each other to just step down like remove themselves from the program And see what ubisoft does about losing its entire like fan The the group of people that they go to for fan feedback if they all just disappeared I mean they are the honestly they are the highest up in terms of fans So that that would probably be that that would be noticed by someone at ubisoft Yeah, the there would be is the community developers at least would have some explaining to do about that and there would be some Accountability I would hope but and and yeah, and if it's but and if they were especially public about their decision it's just so obvious that like Stepping outside of any one individual right regardless of whether or not jonathan domont is a Terrible abusive asshole It is clear like the one thing no one can argue against the one thing no one can deny Is that the workplace culture at ubisoft is a nightmare? It just looks I mean with the number of people Accused the number of problems reported The the level of inaction we've seen from the higher level executive teams and the gmo family Obviously things are fucked up and There has to come a point where there's a reckoning for that It has been a good thing to see over the last few years sort of the the The stand against crunch. I mean I heard it's rumored that you know We found out recently that like apparently the expected release date for grand theft auto 6 is You know 2025 that's a long time from now a long time from when the last game came out but partially the purpose of that development time Is to not ruin your employees lives apparently Yeah, uh to not crunch them into oblivion to put out a game where the horseballs shrink realistically That's a good thing. I will wait. I'm a patient gamer You can give me assassin's creed in 2027 for all I care Uh as long as uh, no women were harassed on the development of this game in the credits That's going to be on like on the cover No, no women were hurt in the making of this video game No women were told to smile in the creation of this video game I'll take it all women all women were frowning while making this game free the frown hashtag free the frown Free the frown hashtag free the frown hold ubisoft a frownable That's the dumbest thing I've ever said I I do I really do wonder what ubisoft as a company looks like by the time this game comes out You know like if things are any better or worse somehow it's got to get better, right? We can always trust and take to heart the fact that Uh, yeah, so they've investigated every allegation and taken appropriate actions. Good for them I can't believe that a company would publicly be like, hey, we're investigating these things and just not Like I don't know just not respond accordingly to their investigations. It's like It's so transparent that you are just bullshitting. It's just it's like it's It's they know what they can get away with and that's the thing like We remember that kotaku interview where they're trying to talk about avor and vahalla and like, you know I think it was steven tot totolo totillo totillo. I don't know what the fuck his name is pronounced He's like, hey, why are the why is why are we only seeing male avor? Uh in the marketing for this game and then the pr woman for ubisoft was like you can shut the fuck up now Please you can stop talking This is probably the same spokeswoman that was like, uh, anyway, I'm sure back to ac infinity. Yeah But I guess to bring it back around ac infinity There's I there's one thing I've said all along which is that assassins creed always changes You know it never stays the same for very long We're not getting these rpg games for very long because after three of them we're getting live service Assassins creed so it has changed it will evolve Just in a way. We probably don't like still I did want to ask you I guess more about like just not so much about the ubisoft stuff But like what this game is going to be do you believe that it is going to like the first? I guess year of infinite infinity content. I guess you could say or do you think that It's going to be china Yes, as we've been okay, so you think that 100 so it's it's got to have both it's got to have single in multiplayer It's got I feel like it's got to have both. Yeah, I think There will be a single player story. I know that like worst fears as far as some people have expressed on twitter Like oh, it's going to be destiny like no there will be I think a single player story but Might be weighed down by a bunch of extra multiplayer garbage Hey, but we're actually going to finally get what you've always wanted Which is multiple settings in a single assassin's creed game. I know I know think think about that. That's the other thing they said in like it's in the leak. It's in the release like We're there are going to be multiple settings technically in this game cool Because there's probably more of an opportunity than ever before to explore one story or character across multiple settings You know like there's a lot of potential and opportunity there It could be good. It could it could be good Why does it have to be shit instead of good? The helix riffs are finally like being utilized in their fullest potential like um Uh, and I just I feel bad about Even having any modicum of optimism at this point like I don't want to think it's gonna it could be good because I mean, I'm definitely not going to play it. That's for surface Like I'm not buying it. I'm not playing it Um, we can't even trust the marketing. We were so excited for valhalla until we weren't we really were It's also so upsetting that they choose they choose to do this Now with like like why couldn't fucking darby be the executive producer? Oh darby wants nothing to do with this Well, yeah, I fuck that shit. I I'm sure his leaving had something to do With perhaps the impending knowledge that Montreal and quebec were going to be skin grafted on to each other And it was going to be a live service with probably less emphasis on story Like I'm sure those things are related in some way and can we also just for a moment acknowledge How strange it is that quebec is essentially in charge Like if if if I heard that Montreal and quebec were merging I never would have thought That meant that quebec was going to run Montreal, but that's essentially what's happening Like you got clint hawking on this game who actually seems like a good dude I don't think there are any allegations against clint hawking And he's been the steward of the watchdogs franchise to some extent or he's he was at least the creative director on Watchdogs Legion and people like clint hawking. Why is he? playing kind of second fiddle to Duman and cote like clint hawking is Well, it is sharing leadership, but jonathan duman as a creative director. So he's not Oh, he's not second fiddle. Okay, but it is true that marco lexie is the is the executive director So or well not executive director the the executive producer of the franchise So in that way still quebec is kind of running the show, you know, oh, yeah, yeah for sure I'm sure they have reasons for their decisions that we could never even know But boy, I'm just I'm not thrilled. It's also kind of interesting to think that How this is going to affect future ubisoft games generally with because the merging of these studios is not just an assassin speed thing And remember we've been getting the potential title slash codename wrong This is actually going to be assassins creed infinity a ubisoft original Wait, are you serious when you fuck him with me? You you don't know you don't know about this every single ubisoft game now is branded as a ubisoft original Oh, oh god. Yeah far cry six a ubisoft original the division parklands a ubisoft original Oh boy. Yeah, I I think I saw something about that. Yeah Yeah yikes I don't say yikes very often, but that's worthy of it I mean ubisoft as a company as a whole seems to be wanting to exploit the Free to play they they want their own warzone fortnite competitor. They want it so bad They did it with hyperscape. I think it's called they're gonna do a free to play division game And probably assassin's creed infinity is gonna be Cheap if not free to play That's to some extent or you know what they'll do they'll do it like halo infinity or halo infinite Free multiplayer pay for the single player. That's what it's gonna fucking be, dude That's what they're gonna do those bastards. I didn't know halo infinite was doing that Yeah Wow, that's cool. Yeah, not cool, but free multiplayer $60 if you want 10 hours of master chief grumbling into his fucking helmet I don't I don't feel like uh halo multiplayer is is that has ever been micro transaction friendly So how are they gonna profit off the multiplayer? Oh, they'll find a way They'll find a way. Yeah, you know, okay. I guess last thing I'll say about infinite infinity Ubisoft original is that I have always loved multiplayer and assassin's creed even like like the more shitty recent like Technically multiplayer shit like with the yomes viking garbage or what I don't know how you say the word whatever yomes viking like that shit Is ridiculous, but So a game that like provides this kind of like next-gen promise like multiple settings and all that shit with a With with multiplayer function and still single player like That doesn't deter me Immediately, but having played vahala. I know what that's gonna mean So that is what deters me about it. It sucks because I'm not excuse me. I'm not turned off from the concept immediately It's just knowing where the games are at this very moment. That is what turns me off from it And it sucks because this this could have been Like a slam dunk In terms of what what we look for They try to please everyone. They end up pleasing nobody. They're they're trying to even in this pr release To say the things that will appeal to us to the gamers to the gamers They want the gamers happy, but we're not happy We're sad We're gonna cry about it And I mean we've we've got the animated stuff in the live-action stuff coming to netflix It's just uh assassin's creed is going to be trying to be at the very least bigger than we've ever seen it before So it's nice that i'm getting off of this train now That was our really our first reaction to the infinity news. It's like damn we were ahead of the curve Getting out of this whole fucking assassin's creed fandom thing And you know we're we're getting to take on the role now of passive observer And we can commentate on these things as we see fit But we are not necessarily coming at it from the perspective of someone who is going to be lining up to buy this product Or ever playing it or ever reviewing it and so on and so forth. You know what I mean like Don't expect just because we did this we're gonna come back and talk about it Again later. We hope We hope you'll join us We hope you'll join us for this incredible journey And we're excited to share more on what's coming for assassin's creed vahala And assassin's creed infinity at a later date Well Have fun with that you be soft have fun with that guys We hope you will come with us on this journey of not Playing or talking about this anymore I hope jonathan dumont Has a bad salmon one day And uh can't make it to work and they fire him Bad salmon Hey, it's a risk in canada does jonathan dumont have a salmon allergy So I didn't know about Don't freak salmon around that guy he'll throw a chair at a wall To add to our list of theoretically unverifiable claims about jonathan dumont We should just start making up rumors about him like that. He has a he's like lactose intolerant He hates ankle socks What a piece of work this guy is Probably time to wrap this up. It's been fun talking about this garbage Tim and I are still in the process of figuring out what we want to do next as far as Podcasts and goes there there will be something eventually. I'm pretty sure we're still figuring it out We just I think when this news came out we saw an opportunity to maybe end things on a On a less abrupt note abrupt dour note a proper goodbye As it were is that basically what this episode is also I would be lying if I said I didn't vastly prefer ending on episode 35 instead of 34 From a you know a Number standpoint, you know what I mean like just a nicer number, right? Tell me I'm right. Tell me it's a good number. Yeah, right. It's a good number. Thank you. Thank you You know, hey, well, I mean the response to this episode will show us if people are still interested in hearing us Because it's been a minute since odd it's been a while. Yeah, so I can't I was looking I found like a reddit post I made about our fall on the chain episode And it's like a year old Like I just like yeah, I can't fucking believe that like a year ago. I fucking was like hey guys We're talking about the fall in the chain this week Jesus Christ How innocent we were then And and I also actually wanted to throw out there when we talked about this situation. It's like I remember I remember where I was when the news broke about Um disgraced former director ashraf ismail because we were how many episodes of the podcast by that point had to be like five or six I want to say and we took a break because suddenly there was this onslaught of I mean that was sort of the the watershed moment that was when the the sort of dam broke and then You know, there were just there were ranges of allegations from from just hostile workplace behavior to out and out sexual assault at ubisoft and It it definitely has cast a shadow over Um the time we spent making this podcast It was something we were thinking about pretty much the entire time So i'm glad we sort of allowed ourselves to talk about it a little bit more directly because We spent a lot of episodes and a lot of time Feeling like we wanted to make a fun lighthearted comedy show and not have it be that dark But it at a certain point needs to be said and I think that point is Well, first it was when we found out that nothing had been done According to reports and now it's that we find out that a lot of those people are being promoted and kept around and they're They're there to make assassins creed a live service so If if that first report wasn't the final nail in the hookblade coffin We're gonna let this be the final nail in the hookblade coffin We will continue to be a dead service But we do want to thank you all for listening because It has been really fun and seeing Some of the comments and tweets we've gotten After we canceled the show Uh really at least for me made me feel like We weren't completely wasting our time with this. So yeah, I still feel like I wasted my time, but I said completely Yeah No, I'm just I'm just joshin It is it is well. Yeah, I mean reading the comments on on our odyssey episode We're nice and I hope people have the same kind of sentiment to now this this I guess more More uh expected goodbye Uh and yeah, I mean I know a lot of you guys said that you'd you'd listen to whatever we do next For those of you who perhaps have not vocalized that just let us know If you'd be interested in more podcast content that is not assassin's creed Yeah, we're we're we're trying to figure out some things, you know We would love to do a show about like more pop culture stuff But there's the question of is that Is that hookblade just changing its direction or is that a completely new show on a new channel? Uh, you know things like that. We are still kind of piecing together So any ideas you have for things that you want to see us talk about because really I mean The the first reason we do this is because it's fun and we like it and it's a good it's a good hobby But uh, it would be a waste of time if there was Nobody listening so That's accurate what you got it does matter to us quite a bit What you guys feel like you'd want to hear us talk about if not assassin's creed, right? So but but more broadly whether you comment or you answer any of our questions just that if you've listened to this episode any episode Um, if you've listened to the show at all, we want to sincerely thank you Um, 100 taking the time to listen to our dumbasses Say stupid shit about this terrible terrible video game franchise Um, thank you. Wolfie. Thank you. Nick Collins our thank you dylan. Thank you dylan. Thank you fin. Thank you traviso. Thank you. Noah Um, thank you kaseyx if i'm pronouncing that right obese ninja Thank you. Thank you messy pizzas. Uh, thank you are shocked. Uh, shout out to all tire stealth Thank you, uh blue from osp. Uh, thank you Henry. Thanks, Henry It's a sikari or a sikari They comment a lot. Thank you sif Sif you're the You're our favorite. Um, thank you for purchasing that that three minutes really appreciate that Yeah, that was a big that was a big help. Thank you locust with a z Mr. Skon Thanks. Thank you darby for the one episode you listened to Thank you for the one episode you you let us interview you on Thank you. Donnie. Thank you. Nick bearish. Thank you. Dustin laffordy. Thank you. Ellie vengala. Thank you. Uh, nerdy archer Thank you for Oz Thank you jacers. How could I forget jacers? Well, well best for last God now if we live now if we leave anybody out They're gonna be so pissed. I know literally We gotta we gotta cross our t's and dot our eyes on this motherfucker now If you are not named just know that that means that uh, we love you very much Thanks, jde Thank you the shannock power. Thank you leo k Thank you ghost leader. Maybe we can get leo k on our Maybe we can get leo k on our next podcast. We didn't get we didn't get to get him on hookblade. Thank you Okay, cut that one out Ha ha ha ha Just all right, I think we've exhausted the thank yous Yeah, not yeah, not all not everyone in the comments deserves us to say their name But thank you to all of our 633 subscribers as of now and uh stick around because hopefully you'll be hearing about our next project sooner Rather than later. I have been The hook I've been the blade And thanks for listening. Goodbye You