Game development is difficult, with many developers having to work around the clock to get games out on time. Former Ubisoft developer Charles Randall knows this too well, as he explains in a tell-all Twitter thread about the latter stages of development of Assassin’s Creed. It turns out the developers had to add the smaller side activities in the game just 5 days before release. Not only that, but they had to be bug-free.
The Twitter thread is no longer available, but dsoggaming.com has thankfully archived it. In the thread, Randall described the process as “a blur” and went on to explain some of the more notorious bugs that made it into the game because of the five-day push.
The decision to add these side activities was apparently because of feedback from a tester, possibly a Ubisoft CEO’s child, that felt the game was boring. It’s interesting to think about what Assassin’s Creed would have been like before these changes, for better or for worse. The tester provided key feedback, helping the franchise transform into the global phenomenon we know today, which is still producing games, such as the upcoming Assassin’s Creed Valhalla.