As those of us who are fans of the franchise know, gamers were not treated to an Assassins Creed game release in 2016 – and we’re ok with that. That being the case, the rumor mill for the next chapter of Ubisoft’s long-running series has been lighting up left & right. The latest rumors about the game include the title (Origins), the setting (ancient Egypt), that it will star two protagonists (one male, one female, as we saw in Syndicate), and that it will focus on open-world gameplay.

Some gamers thought they had uncovered the title of the game last year, but they incorrectly assumed it to be called Empire. We’ve since learned, however, that WWG.com was told by someone claiming to be an Ubisoft insider that the game is definitely going to be called Origins.

Even more sources are revealing the open world nature of the game, and that players will have more control than ever before. What we’ve been told, is that gamers will be able to better guide the growth of the protagonist assassins’ power as they progress through the game. With a(n RPG?) mechanic like this, we may see even more strategy being applied by players than in previous iterations in the franchise.

Moving on to the story itself, we’re hearing rumbles that it will not be as linear as it was in the franchise’s previous chapters. In fact, some are comparing the open-world, non-linear aspects of it to Bethesda’s smash hit, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. WWG has claimed that Ubisoft is creating a much bigger sandbox environment for gamers to explore & traverse, and that the game will contain much more of an exploration aspect. With the geographic location of Egypt, and the rumored inclusion of ship battles & travel, we may see more of the Mediterranean countries included in this game. There have been talks of areas like Greece, France in World War 2 (could we see the return of Lydia Frye, possibly?), an unnamed “Asian country”, and a modern-day Abstergo Industries facility.

Bear in mind, dear readers, that this is still all currently speculation, rumor, and guessing at the moment. Ubisoft has been pretty tight-lipped (moreso than usual, actually) about this title, but that may be them just not wanting us to get too hyped too early. Regardless, we here at PCU hope that the developer does take their time, and that they are able to release a more seamless game, without the tragic bugs & glitches that other entries have had.

We DO know, that the game (Origins or Empire, whatever it will be called) is expected to be available for purchase in the latter half of this year, and we’re expecting that something will be shown for it at June’s E3 conference in Los Angeles, CA.

Are you excited for this iteration of Assassins Creed, dear readers? Are you glad that Ubisoft has taken their time on this version of the game? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!