While none of this information is confirmed, there are POTENTIAL SPOILERS for Assassin's Creed Red and the overall franchise ahead.There are many Assassin's Creed games in development, with the most known being Assassin's Creed Jade (the mobile game set in China), Assassin's Creed Red (an open-world RPG set in Japan), and Assassin's Creed Hexe (which is believed to be set in Germany). AC Red is believed to be the next mainline entry in the franchise, and given how long Japan has been a requested setting, it seems safe to say anticipation is high.

It's not necessarily uncommon for Assassin's Creed games to experience a lot of leaks, but it's typically closer to the reveal and release of the title. This time around though, plenty of rumors and leaks have hit the internet for Assassin's Creed Red, largely via reports from Insider Gaming and insider j0nathan. While the veracity of these rumors and reports remains to be seen, they paint a very pretty picture of what AC Red could be.

Assassin's Creed Red Protagonist Rumors

Assassin's Creed Red is said to feature two protagonists, though the exact dynamic remains to be seen. It's uncertain if players can swap between them effectively at will, like Assassin's Creed Syndicate, or if it's more of a situation where players change over for key set pieces.

It would also be interesting if the two characters remained together at a certain point, opening up co-op gameplay for Assassin's Creed Red, but that ultimately seems unlikely.

Assassin's Creed Red's Naoe

The first protagonist is a female shinobi, as seen in the AC Red reveal trailer, and her name is reportedly Naoe. According to Insider Gaming, Naoe's full name is Fujibayashi Naoe, and she is on a quest to avenge her fallen father, the real-life Fujibayashi Nagato. While Naoe's story is closely tied to a real-world person, it would seem, the surprising element is the second protagonist is a real-world person.

Assassin's Creed Red's Yasuke

The second character is said to be Yasuke, an African Samurai who actually lived during that time. However, it is unclear if the AC Red protagonist will adopt the real name of Yasuke or if it will be further fictionalized in the game. Yasuke's story is that he survived an attack on a slave trip, was brought to Japan, and learned to be a Samurai under Oda Nobunaga.

It is said that Yasuke and Naoe are mortal enemies, hinting that one is essentially an Assassin and the other is a Templar not unlike Assassin's Creed Unity's relationship between Arno and Elise. By the end of the game, however, they apparently become allies.

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Assassin's Creed Red Gameplay Rumors

Gameplay-wise, there have been quite a few rumors as well. According to known insider John Harker, for example, Assassin's Creed Red will be the last game to follow the formula established by AC Origins. That's a bit hard to visualize. Assassin's Creed Origins is what put the franchise into more open-world RPG territory, and it's not likely that every game in the franchise afterward goes back to the action-adventure format like AC Mirage. Either way, another shake-up could be good, but it sounds like AC Red could be the last open-world RPG—as unlikely as it seems.

More specifically, j0nathan has also leaked a handful of gameplay elements for Assassin's Creed Red, some of which bring back key features from the action-adventure titles or introduce brand-new stealth gameplay elements to the franchise. These include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following:

  • The ability to extinguish torches for hiding spots
  • The ability to go prone
  • A Grappling Hook
  • Enemy Posture Meter (akin to Sekiro and FromSoftware games)
  • The map is said to be bigger than Valhalla's, but smaller than Odyssey's.
    • How the map is created, conveyed, and explored may play a huge role in this "map feel."

  • Ubisoft might present immersive player guidance versus map markers
  • Gadgets include, but are not limited to, bells, smoke bombs, shuiken, and kunai
  • Enemy Commanders can be spared and recruited as spies.
    • There will also be Ashigaru, enemies who carry guns.

  • Graphics are said to take a step forward from past franchise entries.

Assassin's Creed Red 'Modern Day' Rumors

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It has also been said that Assassin's Creed Red's "Modern Day" segment is essentially being replaced with a "future segment." A datamined teaser video from Assassin's Creed Mirage hints that, in Hexe, players have been flung into the far future where the 21st Century is ancient history and the time of the "Great Shift."

In support of this new franchise direction, Assassin's Creed Red is said to not feature modern-day segments and instead to push players a bit into the future, sometime between the years 2090 and 2099. What all of this means remains to be seen, but it sounds like a major disaster is set to occur which will no doubt have a huge impact on the Layla-Reader storyline, on Basim's modern-day storyline, and so forth.

Assassin's Creed Red Development & Release Window Rumors and Leaks

assassins creed red release window

Not long after Assassin's Creed Red was revealed, there were rumors that Ubisoft was having trouble with the project. Unfortunately, all Insider Gaming's Source said was that the game was "facing some issues in development," but that AC Hexe was looking "promising." Some rumors since then suggest that the title has gotten onto the right path, but again, all of it remains to be seen. When fans will know is another major question.

A leak from a Ubisoft employee LinkedIn account claimed that Assassin's Creed Red is releasing in 2024, though this was quickly edited and removed. Whether that's because it was a general mistake or an accidental leak is up in the air, but 2024, depending on its development thus far, does not sound unreasonable. The safest bet would be between 2024-2025, it would seem, but development is not an easy process. Anything can change at any time, and this prediction is based on what's rumored and what little is confirmed, which is not the best basis for speculation.

However, what's clear is even if half of these rumors are right, then Assassin's Creed Red could truly be something special.