There are franchise SPOILERS AHEAD, including AC Valhalla and MirageUbisoft is known to have several Assassin's Creed projects in development as the company focuses more and more on the IP. Assassin's Creed Jade, Assassin's Creed Red, and, to a lesser degree, Assassin's Creed Hexe are the most known projects currently in the pipeline. Beyond that, there are plenty more, reportedly including multiplayer-focused games, more VR titles, and among them is Assassin's Creed Nebula, another single-player adventure. Now, Assassin's Creed Nebula is rumored to take place in the Aztec Empire, India, and around the Mediterranean, according to Insider Gaming. But, as promising as that sounds, that doesn't really say anything about its story, exact content, or anything like that.

That will likely not be confirmed by Ubisoft for years at this point, but its codename could let on more than fans know. While some games and studios choose completely unrelated codenames (Obsidian's Avowed was codenamed Alabama, for example), that's not typically the case for the Assassin's Creed franchise. Looking at its codename history, it's clear to see how recent codenames would reflect the content of the game somehow. It's not always the clearest connection, but it's there.

  • Assassin's Creed Valhalla was codenamed Kingdoms
    • This is represented in its story structure with the various kingdoms and sections being almost entirely self-contained stories alongside the main narrative.

  • Assassin's Creed Mirage was codenamed Rift.
    • This could represent the Rift Basim creates in the brotherhood and/or the rift within himself.

  • Assassin's Creed Red
  • Assassin's Creed Hexe

Therefore, it stands to reason that Assassin's Creed Nebula's codename carries a deeper meaning within it too. It could be as simple as a character or plot point, it could somehow be involved with its setting, or it could be representative of the theme or happenings of the game. It's uncertain, but there are three major possibilities that come to mind.

According to NASA Space Place , a Nebula can be defined as "a giant cloud of dust and gas in space. Some nebulae (more than one nebula) come from the gas and dust thrown out by the explosion of a dying star, such as a supernova. Other nebulae are regions where new stars are beginning to form."

Assassins Creed Valhalla Layla Meets The Reader

Assassin's Creed Nebula Might Push the Franchise More Into Sci-Fi Territory

The Assassin's Creed franchise is no stranger to sci-fi elements, what with the animus, ancient races like the Isu, world catastrophes, and so forth. However, it could be that this game pushes that envelope forward more. Sometimes, the simplest solution is always the best, per Occam's Razor, and it could be that Nebula is just what it sounds like. A Sci-fi, space element tied to more intensive sci-fi elements in this game.

The Death of a Star or a New Star in Assassin's Creed Nebula

Perhaps it's not the Nebula exactly that fans want to focus on, but the potential causes of a nebula. They can be dust and gas thrown out by a supernova or regions where new stars are beginning to form. This could reflect some big sort of catastrophe happening in the game, a la Assassin's Creed 3, or a new rising star in some form like a new primary protagonist. There are certainly other ways to read this too. It could be that Basim's plan works and/or backfires, being tied to a Nebula and leaving whatever behind. It could be that his plan working leads to the return of his lover, Aletheia. Or it could also relate to just about anything that happens between the two, perhaps in the past but also perhaps in the modern-day section of Assassin's Creed.

At the same time, all of this could also be connected to Layla and The Reader in Assassin's Creed, likely in conjunction with Basim's plan.

Assassin's Creed Nebula Could Explain Recent Game Leaks

Speculation based on codename speculation and other rumors and leaks may not be the best starting point, but Nebula's subtitle could easily hint at other possible ongoings in the franchise even right now. Rumors indicate that Assassin's Creed Red won't have a modern-day segment insofar as it means genuinely modern. Rumors suggest that the modern-day elements will be replaced by a storyline set in 2090-2099, and if part of the franchise is being flung into the future, that inherently implies some level of sci-fi. And in that, there's a possible connection to Assassin's Creed Nebula.

Furthermore, a datamined video from Assassin's Creed Mirage shows a desolated world with voiceover, seemingly connected to AC Hexe, suggesting that the 21st century was set far in the past and was the time of the "Great Shift." The latter seems likely to do something with humanity, perhaps with the Assassins and Templars, or something as extreme as humanity leaving Earth behind. Mirage may not have set this up outside of more context for Basim, but it could be that AC Red does, AC Hexe continues this narrative, and AC Nebula serves as the conclusion of this new storyline within the franchise. It ultimately remains to be seen what Nebula means and what the next few games will cover, but it's exciting nonetheless.