User blog comment:Master Sima Yi/Assassinews 10-05'12 — World Gameplay Premiere/@comment-184.146.173.3-20120521051702/@comment-1153722-20120521062135

It wouldn't work. From 2000 to 2012, the Assassins operated in small times each with a specific goal, and by 2012 the few remaining ones all had the goal of searching for Pieces of Eden. The Assassins don't have the time to roam freely throughout cities, and because the Templars have their eyes everywhere (which is the exact reason why the Assassins have to go into hiding and why Desmond couldn't walk through Monteriggioni during daytime), the Assassins don't have the safety and security to roam through cities. You could mention Desmond running away from the Assassins to New York City, but imagine how much fun moving through crowds on the ground would be after five minutes of doing it next to huge buildings you can climb.

Gameplay wouldn't work either, because it would just mainly be Grand Theft Auto-y. If they choose to remain faithful to the core aspect of the series' gameplay, we wouldn't be able to drive cars or use guns, which is very out of place in a freeroam game set in modern times. And if they do make it like Grand Theft Auto, then it quite frankly wouldn't be Assassin's Creed anymore. Add to that that the Animus is the core gameplay element of the series, in the sense that it is the bridge from the modern day story to the very relevant ancestor story and removing it would also be out of place. The series is also mainly about reliving an alternated version of history, not shooting up "bad guys" while wearing a white hood. Both gameplay-wise and story-wise, a game set fully in modern times wouldn't work.