The Crossing was a game being developed by Arkane Studios, which attempted to fuse single-player and multiplayer by threading its single-player campaign through live multiplayer games. The Crossing was put on hold on 15 May 2009 after the company ran into an unexpected financial challenge, then later cancelled. And on On 11 October 2016, ZeniMax Media, which acquired Arkane Studios in the meantime, filed a new trademark for "The Crossing".

The game incorporated the idea of parallel universes, and was to be set across two vastly different renditions of modern day Paris. In one universe, which shares many aesthetic similarities to our own, Paris has descended into chaos following the collapse of government. In the other, the timeline diverged in 1307; where instead of being disbanded, the Knights Templar seize control of the French crown. The story takes the player across both universes.