ABSTRACT
This chapter takes a look into the offices of Ubisoft Montréal, which is with 3500 staff members the biggest game studio currently in the world, and the main place of development for Assassin’s Creed during most of the franchise’s lifespan. This chapter draws on 22 interviews with Assassin’s Creed developers, including its original creator (Patrice Désilets) and most of its directors to programmers, artists, writers and others who have worked on a best-selling series that thrives on the mystery of religion throughout history. Doing so, it argues that commercial interests drive a corporation to create a nostalgic “marketable religion” that commodifies belief by reducing it to an acceptable version for the largest possible audience. Five editors and a handful of decision-makers lead thousands of workers globally to make a digital religion without beliefs.
