Bungie popularized the ‘online community tied to a specific shooter’ concept with Halo Waypoint, and EA and Activision took it to its logical conclusion with subscription services like Call of Duty: Elite and Battlefield 3 Premium. Now publishers have begun to create online communities for games that aren’t even shooters. Capcom’s ResidentEvil.net, which tracks player stats and issues challenges for Resident Evil 6, is a good example.
This week, Ubisoft has announced it has created a new “VIP program” for the Assassin’s Creed series.
The community is called “The Watch,” and fans of the series can join the program now, if they’ve pre-ordered Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag and have a Uplay account. It’s available online through the Assassin’s Creed website and Ubisoft claims it has been “optimized” for mobile devices.
People who join “The Watch” will have access to “exclusive tailored content” and early Assassin’s Creed announcements. Ubisoft will also be publishing “in-depth features” about the world of the games and their creation. Of course, members will also get special missions and rewards, as well as a chance to rate themselves against other players on leaderboards.
In general, “The Watch” appears to be another online gaming community for gamers who are really into one game. The new trailer for the service shows that separate feeds will be used in a column format to deliver content to users.