It’s always easy to forget that a video game company has large parts of it that are forgotten about in our zeal for a new video game. During the Assassin’s Creed Odyssey Launch, that I got lucky enough to attend, I had the pleasure of being reminded of one such section of Ubisoft.
This is the section of Ubisoft that’s dedicated to giving us cool collectibles for our favorite games. From epic figurines of Kassandra herself to handheld versions of Leonidas’ Spear, they make our
favorite in-game characters and items come to life.
The workshop has also been working on, for quite some time, branching into the clothing market. Now as a gamer I can’t help but think “O Cool, I can look like Ezio”. However, as an individual who has a day job, I also can’t help but think that such a clothing idea isn’t really feasible.
However, the interview I had with Jean Gauvin, Senior creative director for consumer products at Ubi Workshop, had me believing that perhaps showing you’re a nerd in a tasteful way can be possible as well. Especially as I was shown what ‘casual cosplay’ looks like from a Ubisoft perspective.
The workshop, according to Jean Gauvin, seems to concentrate on more subtle rather than outright statements. Wherein their clothing line will still be appropriate for work, but would still allow those of us in the 
know to recognize another fan of our favorite games when we see them. For instance, a simple hoodie made for the recent Ubisoft game, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, was just released. The hoodie appears just like any other zip up I have in my collection, barring one simple factor.
That being the logo branded on the front of the hoodie and the bank, which marks it as a collectible from the Assassin’s Creed collection.
Another example can be seen in this rather tasteful looking long sleeved sweater that was made for the same game, wherein the pattern for the Animus is central to its design but doesn’t seem to overwhelm the sweater in any way. 
The Ubisoft Workshop has been around for ten years according to Gauvin, but it’s only been the last three years that Ubisoft has really been pushing the clothing and apparel brand forward. As a person looking towards making a purchase in this department, as cool gaming clothes speak to me, the difference in even just a years work is startling. For 
example, if you check out the Bayek hoodie from Assassins Creed Origins the design isn’t what I would call well thought out. In fact, I tend to think it’s a bit tasteless.
As you can see, the design is a very obvious play on the Assasin’s outfit and is a step away from being an outright cosplay design. Not exactly what I would call subtle in nature. However, if the above sweater designs weren’t enough to convince you that the workshop has managed to change up their design plans for the better in the last year or so then check out the recent messenger bag they recently designed.
Much like the hoodie designed for the Assassin’s Creed Odyssey game, the messenger back has the subtle design of the Animus designed on its strapped. It also has the Assasin’s Creed emblem emblazed on the front of the bag as well. However, the rest of it is a matte black color that looks polished and neat. In total, it’s something I could actually wear and use to and from work.
After talking about all the casual cosplay options that were available to us, I couldn’t end the interview without asking about the potential for full-on cosplay. Unfortunately, at the moment it’s only something that they are beginning to explore at this moment but is something that the Ubisoft Workshop would be willing to explore with cosplayers in the future. That said, go give their website a gander and maybe you will find something that speaks to you – personally, I’m going to order the long sleeve sweater I showed you guys earlier.
