Gaming Brew: The Future Of ‘Assassin’s Creed’ Is Bright
In 2007, the gaming world changed when the publisher Ubisoft released Assassin’s Creed. The game changed the landscape of not only open world games but single player story experiences. We stepped into the shoes of Altair, an Assassin fighting against the Templar Order during the Crusades. The game became a critical and commercial success and spawned a franchise that has told multiple stories over the course of close to 20 games, multiple comics and novels and also a feature film starring Michael Fasbender. Each story in this series has taken place at different points in history and have depicted many events involving fictional characters and historical figures.
Flash forward to 2022, where the franchise is celebrating its 15th Anniversary with many in game events, livestreams, merch, new books and comics and so much more. In the most recent Ubisoft Forward on September 10th, fans were given a few teases at what is coming in the future and that future looks great.
So what did Ubisoft announce for the future of Assassin’s Creed? Find out below!
They kicked off the Assassin’s Creed showcase by unveiling the trailer for Assassin’s Creed Mirage. Mirage is set 20 years before Valhalla and takes place in Baghdad and puts players in the shoes of an Assassin named Basim (who is also featured in Valhalla and part of Eivor’s story). The game is being called a “return to form” for the series in which it honors the action/adventure roots of the earlier games. Players are also going back to the Middle-East where the series began all those years ago. In this game, Basim will be exploring and protecting Baghdad while learning from a mentor to become a Master Assassin. Assassin’s Creed Mirage is slated for a 2023 release and is available for preorder on PS5, PS4, PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series S|X, Ubisoft Connect, Luna and Stadia. Mirage will also be the last Assassin’s Creed title released on last generation consoles.
Then came four rapid fire game announcements as well as a tv show announcement. First up was Assassin’s Creed Codename Jade which will be an open world single player game available on Mobile devices. The game is set in Ancient China and players will be able to create their very own Assassin for the first time in franchise history. There is no date yet for Codename Jade but I would guess that it will be a late 2023 release on mobile. Check out the trailer below!
After the Codename Jade trailer, Ubisoft also announced a partnership with Netflix in which they are working on a live action Assassin’s Creed tv series from showrunner Jeb Stuart. Details on that series will be revealed in the coming months.
Then Ubisoft shifted back to the games to talk about Assassin’s Creed Infinity which will serve as an Animus hub for players to launch and play upcoming Assassin’s Creed titles. It was during this presentation that we saw our first teases of Assassin’s Creed Codename Red and Assassin’s Creed Codename Hexe. Codename Red will be a brand new adventure set in Feudal Japan where players will be able to play as a ninja Assassin. There are no other details on the game but I suspect we will get details at E3 2023 next year. After that, we got the announcement for Codename Hexe with a very short trailer that teased that the game will be set during the Salem Witch Trials. Details on that game will most likely be revealed at E3 2023 as well.
It was also revealed during the showcase that multiplayer will be coming back to the series in a separate experience through Assassin’s Creed Invictus which will be another hub players can access through the Infinity hub. While multiplayer is an important focus for the franchise, it looks like the primary focus for Ubisoft will be delivering stories with single player experiences. After all Assassin’s Creed is all about the story.
I will admit that up until recently, I was just a casual fan of the series. I had played a few of the earlier games and I enjoyed them but it wasn’t until I started playing the most recent games through Cloud Gaming on Stadia and Luna with my Ubisoft+ subscription that I really fell in love with the stories and characters depicted in these games. In fact, I am planning on exploring the multiple comics and novels that tie-in to the series to really dive into the lore and canon. Assassin’s Creed is 15 years old this year and it looks like it has no plans to stop delivering incredible stories.
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