Ubisoft Explains Why Assassin's Creed Valhalla's Dawn of Ragnarok DLC Isn't Its Own Game

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Assassin's Creed Valhalla

By Clayton Cyre

Published Dec 15, 2021

Ubisoft released Assassin's Creed Valhalla back in November 2020, and the developer continues to add new content to the already extensive game. With how large the Dawn of Ragnarok expansion is going to be when it releases in March, Ubisoft has explained why it needed to be part of Valhalla rather than a new game.

Assassin's Creed Valhalla's main story unfolds over the course of dozens of hours, but Dawn of Ragnarok is set to add another 35 hours or so to the adventure. The already released Assassin's Creed Valhalla expansions Wrath of the Druids and The Siege of Paris focused primarily on Eivor and the Viking storyline, but the upcoming expansion focuses on Havi. Havi is also known as Odin in Norse mythology and is an "ancestor" of Eivor in Assassin's Creed Valhalla.

Because the Dawn of Ragnarok expansion adds another 35 plus hours to Assassin's Creed Valhalla, the expansion could've easily been a sequel to the game. Ubisoft has confirmed to GameSpot that the primary reason this is an expansion rather than its own game is that Ubisoft wanted to put more focus on the Norse mythology of Assassin's Creed Valhalla due to how much the other expansions delved into Viking history. According to Assassin's Creed Valhalla Producer Jose Araiza, this expansion felt like the "most cohesive way" to extend the story of Valhalla.

Comparing the latest Assassin's Creed titles to theme parks, Araiza stated that Dawn of Ragnorok's location of Svartalfheim is just another piece of the same amusement park. This suggests that Asgard, England, Ireland, and Frankia are also part of the same theme park, allowing Assassin's Creed Valhalla fans to decide which part of the park to visit. It's currently unclear how much more Ubisoft intends to expand upon the Valhalla theme park before completely moving on to its already confirmed live service Assassin's Creed Infinity.

Ubisoft didn't only confirm that Assassin's Creed Valhalla will be receiving the large Dawn of Ragnarok expansion, but it confirmed more content for Assassin's Creed Odyssey recently as well. This new Assassin's Creed Odyssey content brings a new crossover narrative chapter to Odyssey that will introduce fans of the older Assassin's Creed title to characters from the latest installment. Although Assassin's Creed Valhalla already offers numerous references to Assassin's Creed Odyssey and Origins, the newest adventure was also updated to offer more crossover content with Odyssey.

With the first year of Assassin's Creed Valhalla expansions focused so heavily on Eivor and the Viking history, Dawn of Ragnarok may be the first of multiple DLC experiences that centers on Havi. The addition of Valhalla content to Assassin's Creed Odyssey may increase how many AC fans delve into the various realms of Valhalla, while the new Odyssey crossover story in Valhalla may have the same effect for the older title. Assassin's Creed Valhalla Dawn of Ragnorok releases in March, but the crossover content has already been added to Valhalla and Odyssey.