Ubisoft recently announced that Assassin’s Creed: The Ezio Collection was coming to the Switch in February, adding Ezio’s three games to the list of available mainline Assassin’s Creed games on Switch. Ubisoft’s intent with the franchise on the platform isn’t entirely clear, as this addition means there are technically more AC games available on Switch than there isn’t, but this has been slowly scattered across a few years.
AC3 Remastered, AC4: Black Flag, and AC Rogue were all available before this, and in Japan only (but reasonably, eventually, expanding?), AC Odyssey is even playable on the Switch via the cloud. It’s uncertain when and what the next mainline AC game on the platform would be, but it makes the most sense for it to be Assassin’s Creed Unity.
Why AC Unity Should Be The Next Switch Port
The main reason is its popularity compared to other AC games not on the platform. Yes, there are many who haven’t forgotten Assassin’s Creed Unity’s disastrous launch, but the game has come a long way since then. Those who haven’t returned to it in any of the years since will find a much better AC experience, a solid story, a classic Assassin storyline, and excellent parkour (that puts the latest games to shame).
Really, Assassin's Creed Unity makes its own case to be on the Switch, but perhaps over other AC games not on the platform (AC1, AC Syndicate, Origins, and Valhalla), it has one more benefit. It would bring some continuity to the platform, of sorts, as AC Rogue’s Shay Patrick Cormac ends the game by killing Arno Dorian’s father in his search—which is the moment AC Unity begins too.
It has a couple of reasons to come to the platform before other AC games too. First, Assassin’s Creed 1 getting the port treatment wouldn’t be bad, but it does show its age. As AC3 Remastered was released on other platforms shortly before the Switch, AC1 deserves the remaster/remake treatment alongside a Switch port. And, ultimately, that seems unlikely.
AC Unity on Switch Before Syndicate, Origins, and Valhalla
AC Syndicate has a pretty strong case too, but it has to be said that Unity was released before Syndicate. For the latter to be on the Switch first would be odd, though of course there has been no rhyme or reason to the release order on Switch either. Plus, the parkour in Unity, the story structure, and all of that would be best to follow what’s currently on the platform. That’s not anything against Syndicate, but Unity would build on the classic experiences already on the Switch better.
Origins and Valhalla seem less likely, if only because AC Valhalla’s still releasing DLC for other platforms. Another team, in theory, could work the port, but as the Switch is currently home to mostly classic experiences, it would be best for Ubisoft to keep pushing that nostalgia for Switch players.
An argument that could be made against AC Unity on Switch is a classic argument about Switch ports—if they are becoming less and less. One might posit that the Switch would struggle with AC Unity, and it would make some sense. It is a beautiful and demanding game that might very well push the limits of the Switch’s architecture, but if Odyssey can be made playable via the Cloud on it, then AC Unity has that option in terms of size, etc. Plus, there are several as demanding games that are native to the Switch, so that overall argument feels reductive of the Switch's capabilities.
Either way, it’ll be interesting to see Ubisoft’s plans when it comes to the Switch. At this point, more ports only make sense if for the fact that The Ezio Collection (Assassin's Creed 2, Brotherhood, and Revelations) means the majority of the mainline games are on it in some way, but Ubisoft hasn’t seemed to rush those either. Fingers crossed Arno Dorian’s adventure makes it to the Switch sooner rather than later.
Assassin’s Creed Unity is available on PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One.
