Although little has been confirmed about Assassin's Creed Red, the anticipation has been building behind it for years. The game is set to be an open-world RPG taking place in Feudal Japan, and fans have been clamoring for a Japanese setting for a long time. In fact, Ubisoft itself teased a Japanese Assassin's Creed setting back in AC3 at the same time it teased Assassin's Creed Origins and Assassin's Creed Odyssey. Fitting, then, is the rumor that it will be the last game of the Origins formula.
Indeed, a few months ago, a known leaker by the name of John Harker claimed Assassin's Creed Red would be the last of the Origins formula, but as more and more rumors pour in (of varying veracity), what's clear is that this is plausible. More than that, though, is that AC Red may not be just saying goodbye to the Origins formula, but introducing elements for the franchise to rebuild itself with.
June 12 Will Probably Be a Big Day for Assassin's Creed Fans
There are a lot of Assassin's Creed games in development, and fans reasonably can expect a healthy update on some of them on June 12.
Assassin's Creed Red Signals The End of a Long-Teased Direction
From the moment Ubisoft first teased AC Red back in Assassin's Creed 3, showing symbolism associated with Egypt, Greece, and Japan, fans wanted the title to manifest. Japan is one of the most desired settings in the franchise, but instead of jumping straight to it, the franchise explored different locations. The annualization of the series created a rut of sorts, playing at least some role in the disappointing performances of Unity and Syndicate at launch (among other things). The franchise needed a new identity, and it took a year off. That skip year led to Assassin's Creed Origins, a more expansive entry in the franchise that introduced many RPG elements found in Odyssey and Valhalla, and indubitably in the coming AC Red.
However, if franchise fatigue took its toll on the classic Assassin's Creed games, it has taken its toll on the more expansive titles as well. Origins, Odyssey, and Valhalla can take hundreds of hours to complete, bring with them additional open-world fatigue, and create their own divide in the fanbase, as key pillars like parkour take a back seat. The result of this fatigue could be seen as equal measures of excitement and trepidation, as this may not be the Japanese Assassin's Creed fans have wanted. That said, if it is the last one of this franchise, it means Ubisoft is planning to get the franchise, at least to some degree, out before the open-world fatigue arguably does irreparable damage. It can be a swan song to this era of the franchise, while also introducing the new one.
Assassin's Creed Red Jumpstarts The Franchise Future
AC Red may be the last Origins-formula game, but rumors also suggest that it could be doing a lot of the legwork in establishing the future. Looking at the various rumored and/or confirmed Assassin's Creed games, it's clear that Ubisoft is casting a wide net. Rumors suggest a handful of multiplayer games are coming, that Assassin's Creed Hexe is something completely new for the franchise, that Nebula features three different settings, and even that AC4: Black Flag is getting a remake. While Nebula is a single-player game, none of these sound exactly like an open-world RPG, supporting that rumor.
The rumored content for Assasin's Creed Red, however, is much more expansive than a swan song would go. Indeed, it might be ending in one era, but it is heralding another. According to various Assassin's Creed Red rumors, these changes include, but are not limited to:
- AC Red is leaving the modern-day story behind and setting something into the future, with "modern" day segments being replaced by segments set in the 2090s.
- This means instead of preventing another world disaster...perhaps the narrative is letting one happen and signaling a shift in the storytelling.
- Two protagonists, one who is a real-world figure and one related to a real-world figure.
- This could mean more emphasis on history over mythology
- New Hiding Spots and gameplay features, including Grappling Hooks, Shuriken, and other standard additions
- New gameplay systems like the ability to go prone don't spell out "swan song."
- Ray-tracing and Graphic support
- Overhaul of the parkour systems and animations
- and much more!
If half of these are true, it means AC Red is issuing a challenge. Whatever follows has to fit into the new storytelling, meet its enthusiasm for history, and meet it feature-wise and graphics-wise, while also shedding the baggage of the open-world formula. This should be all taken with a grain of salt, but if true, this is a leap of faith for the franchise's future. And if anyone knows anything about the Assassins Brotherhood, it's that there's always a haystack (or the equivalent thereof) nearby.
Assassin's Creed
Assassin's Creed is an action-adventure stealth series published and developed by Ubisoft and its various first party studios. Originally releasing in 2007, the series has seen 12 mainline releases with the recent games moving to a more open-world RPG style. Each game typically showcases major historical moments like the Italian Renaissance, Crusades, or French Revolution, focusing mostly on a long standing conflict between the free-minded Assassins against the order loving Knights Templar.
