Daily Briefing: Thursday 8th July

A live-service Assassin's Creed game is in the works

Ubisoft this week released a blog detailing a very intriguing future for the Assassin's Creed franchise. Rather than focusing on one specific time period, the currently-codenamed Assassin's Creed Infinity will act as a live-service title, offering an ever-expanding and evolving game world.

• Not a whole lot of additional information is known about the project, save for the fact that it's still a good few years away. It'll be interesting to see whether this severe pivot pays off for the series, though with the way the recent premium and DLC release slate has been maybe live-service expansions could be a decent fit for the series. The game is a collaborative effort between Ubisoft's Montreal and Quebec studios and is already experiencing some issues due to several members of staff named in harassment accusations last year still holding positions of power.

Dark Souls III gets FPS Boost on Xbox Series X|S

The announcement comes via the official Xbox Twitter account, which this week confirmed that the game has been upgraded to 60fps - a marked improvement over the Xbox One version's 30fps cap that the game often struggled to hit anyway.

• This is a very welcome little surprise but it could have been so much better. Dark Souls III still renders at 900p despite the increased power of the Xbox Series X|S, meaning that the best way to experience the game is PS5. The PS4 version renders at 1080ps and the PS5 bumps the framerate up to 60fps. Better luck next time, Microsoft.

DICE LA gets a rebrand

The historic EA studio will now be known as Ripple Effect Studios - a name based off the idea that "the smallest idea can change the world." An official EA blog post went into some detail on the studio, which will actually be managed by Respawn founder Vince Zampella who apparently just doesn't need to sleep anymore.

• In a statement, the Ripple Effect team say they developed their own cultures and ways of doing things during their time as DICE LA and thought the time was right to branch out a bit. The studio will focus on becoming one that "excels at everything", which is certainly a tall order though you have to commend their ambition. Ripple Effect are currently working on a "player-inspired experience" for Battlefield 2042, as well as their own "yet-to-be-announced" new project.

Tencent implementing facial recognition software to combat all-night gaming

Tencent confirmed this new restriction in a press release this week, which stated that anyone playing mobile games in China after 10pm and before 8am will have to pass a facial recognition check via their phone's camera to verify their identity and age. All of this is being done in aid of protecting minors and preventing gaming addiction, though its potential for oppression is plain to see - especially given China's much-criticised social credit system.

• The curious thing is that, unlike previous restrictions like the 10pm curfew and real-name verification, this one isn't a directive handed down by the Chinese government - facial recognition was all Tencent's idea. Granted, with the way these restrictions have been progressing these past few years enforcing them with facial recognition probably wasn't that far off anyway, but this is definitely Tencent jumping the gun to keep favour and profits at a maximum.