I really have a bone to pick with Call of Duty HQ, and I’m starting to get anxious about Ubisoft potentially following the same path as Activision with their upcoming Animus Hub. The way things are shaping up, it seems like future Assassin’s Creed titles and their Xbox achievements might be lumped together as downloadable content packs. It’s my hope that the achievements for Assassin’s Creed Shadows won’t be entangled in a complex new launcher system along with other achievement lists for fresh entries—messing with the game order just seems like a step backwards.
The introduction of Call of Duty HQ alongside 2023’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III threw a wrench into the works. Fans of Call of Duty and those keen on collecting achievements and trophies aren’t too thrilled about this new dedicated launcher. Now, if you want to immerse yourself in Modern Warfare II, Modern Warfare III, Black Ops 6, or even Warzone, you’re first forced to navigate your way through Call of Duty HQ. It’s like putting an unnecessary speed bump between you and your destination—just let me play the game I’m eager to dive into, Activision. Why should I deal with an extra layer just to access my preferred game? It might just be mildly irritating if HQ didn’t always require an online connection or constant updates followed by frustrating restarts.
The real kicker here is the merging of Xbox achievements for Modern Warfare II, Modern Warfare III, and Black Ops 6 into a giant list instead of keeping separate achievements for each title. If you’re aiming for a full completion, you’ll need to purchase and conquer all three games, which feels like a tall order. And just when you think the annual release cycle of Call of Duty couldn’t get more troublesome, every new title demands tackling its achievement list to maintain a clean 100%. PlayStation enthusiasts aren’t faring much better. The HQ can only tie one platinum trophy to each game series, leaving Modern Warfare III and Black Ops 6 on PS5 void of platinums.
Fast forward to the impending release of Ubisoft’s Animus Hub: In 2022, they introduced the idea of a unified launching platform, initially dubbed Assassin’s Creed Infinity, which Marc-Alexis Côté from Ubisoft described as the central entry for fans into the Assassin’s Creed universe. This will launch around the same time as Assassin’s Creed Shadows and encompass all future titles, including Assassin’s Creed Codename Hexe. Although the specifics are still sparse, the parallels with Call of Duty HQ are hard to dismiss.
I hold some hope that Ubisoft won’t follow Activision’s lead and will instead provide neat, individual achievement lists for each game through the Animus Hub. Still, given the trend of developers regarding Xbox achievements and PlayStation trophies as a bit of an afterthought these days, I can’t shake the feeling that a combined Assassin’s Creed Animus Hub mega list may be in the cards. It would be a real letdown.
For those curious about what’s next for Assassin’s Creed, check out all the available details on Assassin’s Creed Shadows. What’s your opinion on the forthcoming Animus Hub? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
