Skol! Is what we shouted earlier this week when more leaks seeped their way onto the internet regarding the future direction of Assassin’s Creed. Over the summer some screenshots leaked that appeared to be a new Assassin’s Creed game, set in medieval Scandinavia with the working title Assassin’s Creed: Ragnarok. This heavily implies we’d be getting a Viking themed Creed game, which is a period in history that could lend itself well to the series.
Now more leaks have emerged that lend further weight to these rumours and suggesting that the game will be released in late 2020. From a time point of view this makes sense. Ubisoft are now taking more care when releasing AC games, allowing for the occasional ‘year out’ to take the time needed to polish each title. Nobody wants a repeat of Unity do they? After skipping 2016, Ubisoft released AC: Origins in 2017 then the most recent entry AC: Odyssey in 2018.
Odyssey used the same engine and a lot of the same mechanics as Origins and both titles were excellent, so nobody minded them being only 12 months apart. 2019 however has been another gap year. So it makes sense for for Ubisoft to be planning a new addition to this series in 2020. Creed games typically release in October or November of the year, meaning if Ubisoft play their cards right, Assassin’s Creed 2020 could be a PS5 & new Xbox launch title. They could even make two versions like the did for the launch of the PS4, Xbox One and their predecessors.
The new leaks suggest the title could be unveiled in February, with perhaps a greater showcase taking place at E3 in June. Going by Ubi’s history we believe this is probably accurate. But how will the game itself play? The screenshots show a game in active development, so they are naturally a little rough around the edges, but they show what appears to be a typical medieval Scandinavian village, and what looks to be a return of naval gameplay.
Since its inception in AC3 the naval aspects of AC have been beloved by fans, with AC4 and AC: Rogue pushing the envelope. Origins featured a small amount but Odyssey brought it back and made it centre-stage once again. We imagine that a game that has Vikings as a theme will probably feature a good portion of naval combat, and we’re excited to see how Ubisoft mix it up.
Vikings are hot right now, God of War has taken the Norse route and TV shows like Vikings have gained a huge appeal in recent years. It seems like a great time for Assassin’s Creed to finally use this setting.
