Ubisoft has a very ambitious roadmap for the Assassin’s Creed Franchise going forward with multiple Assassin’s Creed projects in development. 2022-2023 was rocky for Ubisoft. The company faced multiple challenges, which included multiple delays and cancellations of the games along with allegations of toxic work culture, including harassment and misconduct damping all the good momentum the company was riding on. Skull & Bones proved to be a disastrous voyage for Ubisoft with multiple delays, along with repetitive gameplay, lacklustre mechanics, an overall lack of depth and other problems that plagued the game from the get-go. Avatar Frontiers of Pandora’s lukewarm reception didn’t do them any favours either, with a score of 72 on Metacritic which placed it in the lower tier of 2023 game releases. However, the game received an impressive 8.1 user score on Metacritic which is higher than other big Ubisoft titles like Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and Far Cry 6.
But having navigated through all those challenges, Ubisoft has planned a very ambitious roadmap for the Assassin’s Creed franchise which will carry the franchise to the end of the decade, with rumoured 11 projects that are in development. Assassin’s Creed Mirage and Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR are part of the rumoured 11 projects, which have achieved remarkable success, both garnered positive reviews on Metacritic, Assassin’s Creed Mirage received a score of 76 with a user score of 7.2 while Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR received a score of 78 and a user score of 9.0 despite the criticism, fans enjoyed the experience of running across the rooftops of Venice and Monteriggioni as Ezio, rampage across Boston and Rhode Island as Connor Kenway, explore the ancient city of Delos and Athens, Greece, 405 BC as Kassandra. With the overall success of Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR, we can expect Assassin’s Creed Nexus 2 in the future.
Ubisoft plans on releasing a mainline Assassin’s Creed game every two years and releasing a smaller-scale spin-off game like Assassin’s Creed Codename Jade and Assassin’s Creed Codename Invictus in between. This will give the developers ample time to create a polished game and it also gives each mainline instalment enough breathing room in the market and allows for a potential increase in sales compared to the annual release schedule.
Releasing smaller-scale spin-off games like Assassin’s Creed Codename Jade and Assassin’s Creed Codename Invictus will give fans new and regular content and keep them engaged with the franchise. These smaller projects allow the developers to experiment and innovate without the pressure of delivering a blockbuster title. This allows the developers to be more creative as we saw with Assassin’s Creed Mirage.
Anyway, without any further ado, join us as we delve into everything we know about each Assassin’s Creed project that’s currently in development so far and explore the potential directions Ubisoft might take Assassin’s Creed Franchise in the future.
Assassin’s Creed Codename Infinity: A real-life Animus:
Officially announced by Ubisoft at a Ubisoft forward event in 2022, Codename Infinity is set to redefine the Assassin’s Creed experience, it is heralded as a platform or a hub that is going to link all the past and future instalments together, the upcoming Assassin’s Creed Codename Red will be the first game to launch on this platform. Executive Producer of the Assassin’s Creed franchise Marc-Alexis Côté has stated that it is “not a game, per se” but it is going to be “the entry point for our fans into the future.” The games on this platform will be presented as DNA memories [1]. This approach will provide a seamless and immersive way for the players to explore different games and will eliminate the need for long loading screens between each individual game.
Côté in an interview with IGN, has also teased that Infinity is it is envisioned to offer an immersive experience like never before, allowing the players to dive deeper into the ever-expanding lore of Assassin’s Creed. This will bring everything under one roof, i.e. the Infinity hub which will create a more comprehensive and immersive experience for the players. This Hub will also feature a Codex where the fans can dive deeper into the lore of Assassin’s Creed and read about different characters, factions, and different historical events within the series, this will ensure that the fans will have everything they need in this platform, hence eliminating the need to search here and there for lore-related content and eliminating the risk of confusing or overwhelming the fans with a barrage of games and will provide a seamless starting point for both new and old fans.
Côté and the brand director Étienne Allonier will ensure a more unified and coherent approach to the development of future titles. This means it should shorten the time it takes for the studios to execute new ideas. And this project, instead of being studio-centric, will prioritise the talent and leadership of Ubisoft as a whole.
Infinity will evolve over time and offer a variety of free and premium experiences, providing a mixture of different genres to cater to a wide variety of fans. As mentioned before, Infinity will be the platform where Codename Red, which follows the RPG formula laid down by its predecessors, Origins, Odyssey, and Valhalla, will launch on the hub. Codename Hexe, on the other hand, will also launch on the hub, which is said to deviate away from RPG and the old formula and aim to deliver an experience to the players like never seen before.
This hub will also feature a store called “The Exchange,” where players can purchase different types of cosmetic items using real money and it will also feature a battle pass-like system where players can earn cosmetic rewards by completing challenges within the platform, this system will be known as “Synchronization,” will grant access to “Projects” for the main protagonist in the game which will offer narrative and cosmetic reward. This battle[ass is designed to give a continuous string of content for the players to ensure engagement and longevity of the game even during the long periods between the next major release.
Now how they are going to implement this battle pass system will be very important because Ubisoft is notorious when it comes to micro-transactions.
The Infinity Hub is expected to launch alongside Assassin’s Creed Codename Red, which is rumoured to launch somewhere around the holiday season of 2024. So we can expect the Hub to launch either with the game or before the game comes out.
Assassin’s Creed Codename Red:
Assassin’s Creed Codename Red answered the longstanding desire of the fans who wanted an Assassin’s Creed game set in feudal Japan. Codename Red was announced by Ubisoft all the way back in 2022’s Ubisoft Forward event and is another instalment in the RPG quadrilogy. It is set against the backdrop of Feudal Japan between 1530 and 1580, during the time when the Ashikaga Shogunate was in power. A tumultuous era where Japan saw frequent conflicts among the daimyos [The Feudal lords] who often competed for more power and territories, complex coalitions, betrayals, and shaky loyalties drove these conflicts which made the political climate of Japan very unpredictable which made this era a great canvas for an Assassin’s Creed game [1].
The game is being developed by Ubisoft Québec studio, the studio behind the development of Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, and Assassin’s Creed Syndicate. Jonathan Dumont and Pierre Brodreau are leading the charge in the development of this game. Codename Red will be the first game that will truly embrace the next-gen consoles or current-gen consoles like PS5 and the Xbox Series X. This transition should mean that the game will feature cutting-edge visuals, an improved AI system, and a variety of other major and minor improvements. Tom Henderson shared that Codename Red and all the future instalments will run on a new and redesigned version of the Anvil engine called “Anvil Pipeline.” This will be an improved version of the Anvil engine. The developers had to rework almost all of the mechanics and gameplay features, including animations, parkour, dynamic weather, etc. In addition, Tom Henderson also shared that Assassin’s Creed Codename Red’s combat system will be similar to but more violent and brutal than its predecessor Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. It will focus on gore and decapitations.
Codename Red is rumoured to have dual protagonists, an African Samurai inspired by a real-life African Samurai named Yasuke, and a shinobi named Naoi, who seeks to avenge the death of her father at the hands of the Order.
Now according to Marc-Alexis Côté, Codename Red will have a dynamic world that will change over time. While speaking to Video Games Chronicles, Côté shared that “the thing the team is pushing for in this game is that the world is more dynamic and revolves around the players, including improvements in environment, animations, and AI system. The map of Codename Red is rumoured to be bigger than Assassin’s Creed Valhalla but smaller than Assassin’s Creed Odyssey [4].
Ubisoft Quebec studio’s team wants the in-game world to show wear and tear as you walk through different parts of the story, the team aims to create a more dynamic and immersive world for the players and will enhance the player experience. From the looks of it, Ubisoft doesn’t want this game to be another generic RPG instalment, but they want this game to be a step forward in the evolution of this series. Ubisoft’s CEO Yves Guillemot expresses that he has confidence in Quebec’s ability to push the limits of its creativity which is commendable.
Another thing fans are eagerly keeping their eye out on the internet is the gameplay, we can expect that this game will have a blend of action and RPG elements as the game has dual protagonists, one will be a Shinobi and the other will be a Samurai. Shinobi will be armed with shuriken, kunai, smoke bombs, hidden blade, and other tools. Her playstyle will be that of a traditional Assassin, while the Samurai will be equipped with the traditional Samurai weaponry and will have the playstyle of a Samurai warrior.
According to Tom Henderson at GamingInsider [2], Codename Red’s another feature is a destructible environment. This feature will allow the players to destroy anything and everything players can expect to break in real life, for example, Japanese screen doors can be slashed and broken. This will add another layer of interactivity and gameplay depth to this series.
According to Insider Gaming and PC_Focus, new information has come out about the plot, characters, gameplay, and other information, all thanks to a game tester we now have a lot of juicy information to talk about. Before reading, I would suggest you all read it with a tiny grain of salt and wait until Ubisoft themselves confirms it officially because we were disappointed last year with Mirage rumoured to have a parkour system like Unity but it turned out to be false.
1] Information on the plot of the game:
The tester reveals that the game may have a tutorial mission that starts between 1450 and 1470 and the game is expected to have multiple time jumps. This leak is conflicting because according to Insider Gaming Magazine, as reported by Minimap.net [5] the game will take place between 1530-1580 and according to this leak, the game will start between 1450-1470 so take this with a grain of salt.
Naoi/Naoe’s prologue will begin with an attack on a village when she was young, the village is burned down and the time jumps to when she is an adult, we will learn about her motives, and why she wants to hunt down the Order/Templars. Leaks suggest she heads down this path to avenge her father.
The prologue of the game will begin with a voiceover battle cry and the camera will pan to a small village under attack and the village will be engulfed with fire, death and smog, chaos everywhere.
Here an important character will be introduced who will become very important to the game’s plot.
2] Information on the characters:
A male Samurai named Yasuke will be accepted into the clan and the Shinobi will already be a member of the Iga ninja clan which will be led by Nagato Fujibayashi, her father. Their interests will coincide up to a certain point and will work together against a common enemy but won’t do it otherwise.
3] Information about the gameplay:
According to the tester, the parkour system will be vastly different and much better than the ones present, in all the past four games, i.e Origins, Odyssey, Valhalla, and Mirage and it will be reminiscent of the parkour system of Assassin’s Creed Unity, one of the most under-rated games which had arguably the best parkour system in the series.
The tester while exploring, found himself in a densely populated city and the design of the city lends itself to parkour which will allow you to traverse cities without needing to step foot on the ground which is great because parkour was one of the weakest and neglected elements in RPG games. The grip can be used for parkour and climbing since we no longer can climb on anything and everything.
The game will have puzzles and challenges that will test the player’s parkour skills and the dual protagonist system will be implemented very differently than it was in Syndicate and unlike Syndicate, we can only switch characters when entering specific shelters.
Codename Red will have its own settlement system called “the hideout” similar to the one featured in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla but this time it will be more advanced than before. Players can build at their own will and can have their own dojo, armoury, and altar where players can engage in side activities like offerings or other rituals in the game, players are allowed to choose the location of their buildings, weapons, armour, and create and customise the buildings in their hideout.
The stealth mechanics are rumoured to be significantly revamped and will allow players to utilise the natural cover by hiding in tall grass/bushes, extinguishing torches and creating dark areas where players can hide from the enemies, for the first time in the series, players can even go prone, enabling the players to crawl or lie flat on the ground to avoid getting detected by the enemy.
Transmog and New Game + will also be available after the launch of the game and the testers have heard that the developers supposedly intend to make this game “more down to earth” and with “less of a fantasy connection” so we can expect less focus on mythological/fantasy part and invest more time into making the game more down to earth, and provide the players best experience they can.
4] Other information:
The ninja that we see in the teaser trailer is not the main character but a generic ninja assassin.
The name of this game has been changed two times already and we should expect to see maybe a gameplay trailer or another teaser trailer in May 2024 [3], a gameplay showcase may happen at the Ubisoft Forward event in July 2024. The game is expected to be released in the fall 2024 or late 2024.
An Insider also known as jOnathan has been a source of leaks and information regarding Assassin’s Creed Codename Red, now once again before we dive deeper into these leaks, I ask you to take this with a tiny grain of salt. He shares that the enemy will use Tanegashima matchlock guns and these guns were already introduced by the Portuguese empire to the Japanese.
Also, the game will feature a posture bar mechanic, the one similar to the Sekiro games, the enemy will have two bars on the screen, one will be the typical health bar and the other will be the posture bar and if you manage to fill the posture bar up, you can perform a shinobi death blow, instantly killing the enemy.
jOnathan also shares that in Codename Red, we won’t be bombarded with hundreds of map markers, this time the map will have fewer markers which will allow the players to explore on their own without holding their hands, kind of similar to Sucker Punch studio’s hit game Ghost of Tsushima. The bandit camps will have a commander and players can either choose to kill and loot his corpse or spare him and he will become your informant/spy who may provide you with information on your next target or information on side missions you currently have.
Assassin’s Creed Red has all the potential that it needs to be another banger in this franchise as it fully embraces the new generation of consoles like PS5 and the Xbox Series, it is a huge leap forward as it is rumoured that it ditches the old gen consoles behind and focuses solely on the newer console which will provide the necessary time for harness the full potential of these consoles. After the hit “Shogun” series on Disney+, fans can’t wait to get their hands on this game and immerse themselves in feudal Japan, explore beautiful landscapes or traverse through the rooftops of cities. The developers are eyeing a Fall 2024 launch, which is between September to November but nothing is confirmed from Ubisoft and we would have to wait for official confirmation.
Assassin's Creed Codename Jade:
Assassin’s Creed Codename Jade is Ubisoft’s first attempt to deliver that Assassin’s Creed open-world RPG experience on mobile devices. Officially announced by Ubisoft in September 2022, along with several other interesting projects. Codename Jade has garnered a lot of attention for its ambitious attempt to deliver the full-scale Assassin’s Creed experience on Android and iOS devices.
The game is being developed by Level Infinite, a division of mobile gaming behemoth Tencent. Andrei Chan, the Executive Producer of Level Infinite stated “Our goal is to provide authentic Assassin’s Creed experience on mobile, and we are very proud of what we have already. Fans can expect all the iconic features - assassinations, air assassinations, stealth, parkour, combat mechanics - and we’re keeping it narrative-driven.”
The game is set in 215 BCE Ancient China under the Qin Dynasty during the time of one of the first unified empires of China [1]. So chronologically the game will take place between Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and Assassin’s Creed Origins, and from the gameplay footage it seems Kassandra is making her return and she is teaching Wei Yu, how to perform the iconic leap of faith and engaging in combat with him. [2].
It will be interesting to see Wei Yu because he is revered in Assassin’s Creed lore and he is the legendary Assassin who assassinated tyrannical Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China. The first time we saw Wei Yu was in Assassin’s Creed 2. After more than a decade he will be playable in the prologue of the game.
For the first time in the series, Codename Jade lets the players mould Xia, the main protagonist into their vision including gender, clothing, and other features. For an in-depth look at how character customization is in Codename Jade, check out a video by a YouTuber Cyfiero. This video will offer a glimpse into how extensive the customisation options are.
Here’s another link to a video by YouTuber Access the Animus where we get a glimpse of the gameplay of Assassin’s Creed Codename Jade. The gameplay mirrors closely to the Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, it has the same combat system, quest design, emphasis on elements like loot and customization, and mythical boss fights, all of which contribute to creating an immersive and full-scale Assassin’s Creed experience right on your fingertips. The scale and scope of Codename Jade are very impressive and something I thought was not possible because of the limitations of mobile devices. Jade also has parkour challenges, combat challenges, and puzzles to test player’s skills and offers an immersive and dynamic gameplay experience. Moreover, the touchscreen controls have been designed to offer an instinctive and quick gaming experience, which will allow the players to explore the breathtaking world of Jade.
But that’s not all, it seems that Codename Jade will also feature a co-op mode where players can team up with their friends and do specific missions together, fight mythical bosses, and to a certain extent, players can even free-roam together. This inclusion enhances gameplay and creates a rich gaming experience.
Now comes the important part that you may have been waiting for, is this game free or do we have to pay? Codename Jade has a gacha-like system where we can obtain legendary weapons/armour by opening loot boxes and cosmetics that we can purchase similar to the item packs and that’s not all, there’s an energy system in the game. Yes, you heard it right, you will need energy to perform certain activities and if you run out of energy, you won’t get the rewards by completing these activities anymore unless you cough up money for it.
One of the major issues that plague mobile games is monetization strategy, while some players acknowledge the necessity of monetization for the longevity of this game, others are concerned with micro-transactions and how will be implemented and will have an unfair pay-to-win model, which will harm the player’s experience.
Now let’s turn our attention to the recent development and I am sure we all saw it coming, Assassin’s Creed Codename Jade is delayed and is postponed to 2025, the game was originally slated to launch this year but now will likely launch in 2025 [1]. The cause for this delay is that Tencent wanted to capitalise on a game called DreamStar, so they reallocated resources and moved the developers working on Codename Jade to this game. However, this delay may benefit Codename Red because now it will all the spotlight to itself and attract wider audiences.
Assassin's Creed Hexe:
Anticipation builds up for another flagship Assassin’s Creed game that is being developed by Ubisoft Montreal studio Assassin’s Creed Codename Hexe. Officially announced at a Ubisoft Forward event all the way back in 2022, other than the dark and mysterious trailer, details surrounding this title have been scarce, leaving the fans with nothing but a few breadcrumbs. Fans quickly pointed out that its name “Hexe” translates into Witch in German. Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier hinted that the game will be set against the backdrop of the late 16th or early 17th Century Holy Roman Empire in Germany during one of the most darkest periods of European history, where thousands of people mostly women were accused of witchcraft and were brutally tortured and executed.
Germany was plagued by social, political, and religious upheavals, leading to poverty and instability and increased vagrancy and criminal activities. And mass hysteria led to 80,000 people being executed for Witchcraft or being in the League of the Devil or other supporters of the devil. The devs have placed heavy emphasis that this game will be “very different” and “very dark” than all the other games.
According to InsiderGaming’s report a solo female protagonist that is currently being called Elsa. Now the name is just a placeholder name and naturally, it can be changed during the development but according to AC: Landmarks, the name means “oath to God” or “noble.” And Ubisoft Montreal’s Talent Acquisition specialist Yara Tabbara, in a LinkedIn post, stated that the game will leave a lasting mark on the franchise. In a comment, she further stated that the game will have “strong feminine energy.” While this is not a direct confirmation, but it does align with the overall theme of the game.
Other than the 30-second ominous teaser trailer, Ubisoft hasn’t revealed anything. The Assassin logo is made out of sticks and twine is placed on an inverted pentacle, a symbol that is deeply intertwined with the occult. The letters and alphabets that surround the Assassin symbol offer clues that would have gone unnoticed if not for the keen eyes of players. Access the Animus in their detailed YouTube video explaining exactly what the alphabet surrounding the Assassin Crest and the letters within the pentacle mean. The alphabet in which these symbols are written is called “the alphabet of the Magi,” magi is the plural of magus which in Latin means magician, sorcerer or in this case someone who deals with the occult. According to Wikipedia, the Alphabet of the Magi is the modern name of a variant of the Hebrew alphabet used for inscriptions in talismans in the 17th Century occultism. It is said that Paracelsus, who was an alchemist and occultist, created the Alphabet of the Magi. He studied the Pieces of Eden brought to him by the Assassins including The Book of Abraham which apparently contained the learnings of an author called Abraham of Würzburg. The readers of this book were driven mad due to the overflow of information inside the book and even Paracelsus was driven mad to some extent. Now why am I mentioning this? The letters that are placed inside the circle around the Assassin symbol are translated directly to German, and it states “Wir arbaiten im dem twnckel um dem licht zu dienen” and when you translate it into English, it says the iconic Assassin motto “We work in the dark to serve the light.” Now for the symbols placed within the circle, we can look at the section that is defined by the pentacle. There’s an interior section, an exterior section and a central section. In the exterior section, it translates into the word “Mephisto,” a demon from German folklore, followed by the word inside the interior section “Rache” which means ‘avenge’ and the word “Hwsa” from the central section which means ‘house’ or ‘family.’ Put all these words together, and you will get the phrase “Mephisto avenge the house/family,” all of this points towards the German Witch trials of the 16th and 17th Centuries which were done by the Holy Roman Empire. Now we already know this, why am I mentioning this again? because one of the cities we can see in Codename Hexe is Würzburg because one of the biggest mass witch trials and executions that happened in that period was the Würzburg Witch trials of 1621-1631 during the 30-year war between the Protestants and Catholics. The setting, the dark Witch trials, and the occult, mystery, all of these elements can create a dark experience, to the likes we have never seen before in the Assassin’s Creed franchise and will leave its mark on the franchise.
According to Marc-Alexis Côté, Codename Hexe is going to be "a very different type of Assassin's Creed game," hinting that Codename Hexe is not going to be an RPG nor it will be a traditional Assassin’s Creed game, so what exactly is this game going to be? Everything is open for interpretation right now, fans expect that Codename Hexe is going to be a horror/thriller linear game that will have horror elements and a more linear structure. This creates an opportunity for the developers to make the game more immersive, and create a rich and intricately designed world that will offer a deeper level of immersion, intricate storytelling, and atmospheric design which will contribute to creating a great and different kind of experience for the players.
We don’t have much information about Codename Hexe other than what we know, Ubisoft is keeping their card very close to the vest and we can do nothing but wait for more leaks from credible sources and for the official announcement by Ubisoft themselves. Since this is going to be an Assassin’s Creed game after all it will retain core elements that define this franchise.
Codename Hexe is being developed by the veteran studio Ubisoft Montreal, along with the creative director, known for his work on games like Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory, Far Cry 2, and Watch Dogs Legion. I am very confident in Ubisoft Montreal studio and this instalment will not only be another banger in the series but will offer a fresh and innovative way to experience Assassin’s Creed. Assassin’s Creed Codename Hexe has been in development for a significant period and details about it are slowly emerging but we still don’t have a lot of information on its development. Hexe just like Codename Red will launch on the Infinity Hub and is expected to launch on next-generation or current-generation consoles like PS5, and Xbox Series X, while the decision to embrace the new-gen console and harness their potential is good but it may impact their revenue by not launching it on the old-generation of consoles.
We eagerly wait for the launch of Assassin’s Creed Codename Hexe, which is slated for 2026 according to The Loadout. The anticipation for this game is building up and fans cannot wait till 2026 to know more about this game. I am very much excited for Assassin’s Creed Codename Hexe because, to me, Assassin’s Creed thrives on darker settings like this one because those settings serve as a great backdrop for a compelling narrative that’s brimming with intrigue, tension, and moral ambiguity. Exploring these darker chapters of history not only provides the players with an opportunity to learn about it but also offers a unique experience of how challenging it was to survive in these tumultuous times, how much different the world was just a few hundred years ago, how much humanity has evolved since then.
Assassin's Creed Codename Invictus:
[Image credit: ACFirstCiv]
How many of you remember the multiplayer mode that was in the older Assassin’s Creed games? Assassin’s Creed has always been a single-player action-adventure-focused game but it also featured a multiplayer mode starting from Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood to Assassin’s Creed Black Flag, all of these games had a multiplayer mode. The concept at that time was very innovative and this concept of stealth-based multiplayer was new, it provided fans with an alternative to the usual fast-paced multiplayer modes in other games. The multiplayer mode included Hunt and Be Hunted, Capture the Flag, Domination, and a team-based game where one team is hunted by the other team.
Players enjoyed the multiplayer mode and praised it for its unique gameplay, and the various ways you can kill your enemies. Players loved running across the rooftops, hiding amongst the crowd like an Assassin, and coming up with new and unique strategies to either kill their targets or avoid being killed by other players. This mode required a different skillset compared to the usual multiplayer modes as it didn’t solely rely on reflexes and aims but it placed emphasis on stealth, strategy, and deception, players had to observe the behaviours of others to figure out who their target was, use disguises, and carefully planning next move. This depth appealed to a lot of fans who were looking for a unique multiplayer experience but unfortunately, this mode didn’t make its return in Assassin’s Creed Unity and instead, we got a co-op mode where specific missions were crafted uniquely to be played with friends and these missions included heists, assassinations missions and co-op story missions specially made for this mode that expanded the narrative of the game.
It has been a decade since we had any form of multiplayer, but it seems we won’t have to wait much longer. Assassin’s Creed Codename Invictus is going to be Ubisoft’s first full-fledged multiplayer instalment in the Assassin’s Creed franchise, it was confirmed at an earnings report in 2022 and was officially announced in September 2022. Codename Invictus is said to be a part of the all-new Infinity hub, the report did confirm the project, but it didn’t reveal any other information.
It is very unclear how Invictus will tie into the overarching lore of the Assassin’s Creed franchise, we do not know what type of multiplayer game it is going to be. Its name “Invictus” is a Latin word that translates into “unconquered” or “undefeated.” The name suggests a potential setting in Ancient Rome during the Roman Empire’s reign. We haven’t received any information other than its announcement, we haven’t even got a trailer or teaser for the game yet. We are left to wonder what we can expect from a multiplayer Assassin’s Creed game.
We can see the modes from the previous multiplayer mode returning in Codename Invictus along with various new additions like team deathmatch, heist mission where we infiltrate a templar stronghold and steal certain artefacts, different types of challenges like parkour challenges, combat challenges, stealth challenges, also we can get in-depth character customization, a skill tree where players can spend skill points and acquire new skills, a new levelling system that is rewarding and is unlike we have seen before.
This game can bring back the Assassin-Templar war and experience it in a way we haven’t before. Players, in the beginning, can start as novices of the Assassin Brotherhood or start off as the novices of the Knights Templars. This game can offer unique playstyles that are different from the others, each faction can offer unique outfits, weapons, artefacts, abilities and perks, for example, a high-ranking Master Assassin can recruit his own team like Ezio Auditore, can perform chained Assassinations, can use disguise, unlock an ability where we can bribe off city officials, get extra secret information from other factions like thieves, courtesans, and recruit mercenaries. High-ranking Templars can get special rewards, unique outfits, unique skills, and unique abilities like Templars who are rising through the ranks can gain command over the city’s guards and place them wherever the player sees fit, and players can also form squads of elite guards. These elite guards could be better equipped than normal guards and can be more difficult to take down. This will make players feel what it is like to be a Templar and how different it is from being an Assassin. And offers an immersive, fun experience that will be very unique from the multiplayer games that are out there and can offer players a good alternative to those who are tired of the same multiplayer games and are looking to try something new. Assassin’s Creed Codename Invictus has immense potential to be a really fun game and be a nice instalment in the franchise only if it is done right and not riddled with micro-transactions.
The development team of Assassin’s Creed Codename Invictus includes former senior members of other Ubisoft multiplayer games like For Honor and Rainbow Six Seige, who’ll lend their expertise on how they can craft a new kind of multiplayer experience for the players. We don’t know anything about this game other than its name, so forget about its release window or release date.
Assassin’s Creed Project Nebula:
[Image credit: Reddit]
Rumours swirling on the internet about Ubisoft’s next instalment in the Assassin’s Creed franchise is Assassin’s Creed Codename Nebula. Another intriguing instalment that is going to expand the ever-expanding lore of the franchise and offer an experience that surely is going to push the limits of Ubisoft in a way never before.
Assassin’s Creed Codename Nebula is rumoured to span across different international locations and periods. According to Insider Gaming’s Tom Henderson, Nebula’s setting will include the Aztec Empire, India, and the Mediterranean, which offers a diverse and expansive historical backdrop for the franchise.
One of the intriguing questions that’s raised is about the gameplay and the narrative direction of the game. Unlike all the previous instalments, which typically focused only on one historical time period, Assassin’s Creed Codename Nebula can adopt a multi-regional strategy which would allow Ubisoft to take full advantage of these multiple settings and explore their distinctive culture, and history. And it will allow the story to breathe and can potentially come up with a strategy that links all these diverse settings into one
The Codename “Nebula” is a giant cloud of dust and gas in space, which can be formed by the explosion of a dying star or areas where new stars are beginning to form. It could potentially hint that sci-fi elements may be incorporated into the game. This would be an interesting move because the historical setting is Ubisoft’s bread and butter, it's one of the key elements behind the massive success of the Assassin’s Creed franchise,
Assassin’s Creed Codename Nebula is currently in its infancy stage or early stages so I doubt we will see any trailer anytime soon. But maybe we hear something more about this game from the developers at the Ubisoft Forward event on June 10th, 2024.
Assassin’s Creed Project Raid:
Assassin’s Creed Project Raid is the second rumoured game that is in the early stages according to Insider Gaming and it is rumoured that it will be another multiplayer-exclusive Assassin’s Creed game.
Ubisoft Chengdu, a division of Ubisoft based in Chengdu, China was the one who pitched the idea for Assassin’s Creed Project Raid and it's said to be a free-to-play four-player co-op title with PvE elements.
Project Raid is said to be inspired by the river raid side activity in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. Players can team up with their friends to raid non-player enemy strongholds or camps and obtain unlockables like different gear, weapons, and other rewards. The players can then use it to customise their character or their home base or camp. And as I said the game is expected to be free-to-play, we can expect microtransactions or in-game purchases that will be made available in the game.
Older Assassin’s Creed games have shown that multiplayer can work in this franchise and it will be very fun because it will offer different online multiplayer experiences to the players. We should stay tuned for more information that will come out in the future.
Assassin’s Creed Project Echoes:
Assassin’s Creed Project Echo is the third rumoured multiplayer Assassin’s Creed game that’s currently in early stages of development at Ubisoft Annecy, the studio behind the multiplayer section of Assassin’s Creed and Splinter Cell games and the co-developer of The Division 2 game, and other successful games like Assassin’s Creed 3 that came out in 2012 and Assassin’s Creed 3 Remastered that came out in 2019.
This game is rumoured to be an MMO and is going to utilize Ubisoft’s Scalar technology which uses cloud-based microservices that will enhance the multiplayer experience for the players, especially when handling large volumes of players. Assassin’s Creed places heavy emphasis on smooth seamless movements, combat, and other gameplay aspects, so accommodating the large number of players simultaneously could pose a challenge.
It could refer to the game’s emphasis on large-scale multiplayer, integrating technology like Animus in the game to relieve genetic memories of ancestors. Now “Echoes” may mean that multiple players simultaneously access the genetic memories of either the same or different Assassin ancestor within the game. In this context, multiple players try to interact with the same ancestor’s memories which will end up creating variations or “echoes” of the ancestor. The Scalar technology is already received high praise to what it will supposedly accomplish, so this game might be the one where we see what this technology is capable of. We don’t know whether this game is going to be a mobile game or a console game. Again, as always, all we can do is wait for official confirmation and more information to come out.
Assassin’s Creed Project Nexus 2:
After the massive success of Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR, it was a no-brainer that we would get a sequel. Assassin’s Creed Project Nexus VR 2 is the highly anticipated rumoured instalment to the Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR which came out in 2023 for Meta Quest VR headsets. The game was praised for its immersive VR experience, which allowed the players to once again step into the shoes of fan-favourite Assassins, Ezio Auditore, Connor Kenway, and Kassandra.
As the information on these projects is limited, the information on the narrative of this game remains unclear. But I am curious to see which other characters Ubisoft will bring back for Assassin's Creed Nexus VR 2.
We can anticipate potential improvements that could enhance the VR experience and make a more immersive and engaging VR experience for the players. They may address the feedback the first game received and refine gameplay elements like stealth, parkour, and combat system. With more and more advancements in the VR world, we can expect better graphics and more immersive gameplay that takes full advantage of the hardware.
As mentioned above, the game is in the early stage of development so the release date for Assassin’s Creed Project Nexus VR 2 is not available at the moment, we can expect to hear about these games at Ubisoft’s annual showcase event for upcoming games, Ubisoft Forward on June 10th.
Assassin’s Creed Project Obsidian:
After the massive disaster that was Skull & Bones, which initially was supposed to be the successor of Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag which evolved into its own game, Ubisoft may be looking to make a return on its investment by using the assets of Skull & Bones. Its current name is “Project Obsidian” and according to rumours the development of this game began only less than a year ago, it’s no real surprise that the earliest we can expect this game to launch will be 2027 or even later than that.
I just hope Ubisoft takes its time with the development of this beloved game and doesn’t rush it out. I am quite excited for this because Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag is one of my favourite games. Now this is all the information that there is available on the internet about this game.
But that's not all, Black Flag isn't the only Assassin's Creed game that's being remade and this game is supposed to be released by the end of this decade. And the game that makes sense to me is Assassin's Creed 1. Fans have been begging Ubisoft to remake the game which started it all. And this may be the remake that we always wanted but again take it with a grain of salt and lets hope we will get to hear more about these projects in the near future.
My thoughts:
Ubisoft’s ambitions will carry out their biggest franchise at the end of the decade and it has left fans excited about the future and can’t wait to know more about these future instalments. The one game that caught my eye, particularly, is Codename Hexe. I am very much intrigued by this game because Codename Hexe is surrounded by mystery. We don’t know what type of game Codename Hexe is going to be. All we know is that it’s not going to be a traditional AC game, nor it will be another RPG game. It will offer a new experience to us and I am very much excited about it. I am also excited for Hexe’s setting, Germany during the reign of the Holy Roman Empire. The witch hunts that happened during this time make it one of the most darkest chapters in European history. I believe that Assassin’s Creed thrives on a darker setting because it adds to the overall narrative of the game and makes it more immersive. It helps to make the game leave a good lasting impression on the players.
However, there is a small possibility of potential fan fatigue due to a large number of games in development, basically too much Assassin’s Creed. Another risk also arises which will throw a wrench into their plans like layoffs which would affect the production timelines resulting into delays. For instance, Codename Jade was delayed due to its developer Tencent decided to reallocate developers to work on other projects like DreamStar, which slowed the production of Codename Jade. Similarly, Ubisoft could end up facing similar challenges.
The company changed its focus from innovation and creativity to trend-chasing which can lead to a massive disconnect between the suits and ties in upper management and the employees resulting in a toxic work culture, allegations of abuse and misogyny, and the departure of numerous high-ranking executives and veteran developers.
Ubisoft must find a to navigate through all these hurdles, find a proper balance between trend-chasing, creativity and innovation and work on the feedback it receives from the players. In the end, despite all the challenges, I am very excited about all these projects and can’t wait for more information to drop on these games and which direction Ubisoft will take this beloved franchise into the future.