Highlights
- Assassin's Creed has always focused on recreating historic places and periods, leading fans to wonder if the series will ever visit a modern time period like WW2, but it's highly unlikely.
- Assassin's Creed: Conspiracies, a comic book series set in WW2, has already told the story adequately and doesn't need to be adapted to another medium.
- Assassin's Creed is best at presenting the distant past and showcasing long-gone ways of life, so a game set in the not-so-distant history of WW2 might take away from its charm. Not only would guns make it less focused on stealth and more on shooting, but covering the entire conflict is unlikely.
Assassin's Creed is a series that has spanned thousands of years and has games set against numerous important historical backdrops. Whether it be Italy in the 1400s or the American Revolution, the AC franchise has always focused on recreating historic places and periods as accurately as possible. Some recent games have even adapted their worlds for educational software meant to teach gamers about their respective eras. This dedication to visiting some of history's most important moments and figures has led fans to wonder if the series will ever visit a modern time period, such as WW2. In spite of WW2's importance as a historical event and an event in the Assassin's Creed universe, an entry set during it is extremely unlikely.
Assassin's Creed: Conspiracies is a comic book series set during the events of the Second World War. The novels detail the Templar's attempts to create a one-world government by causing unrest on a global level and the assassins who undermine these plans. Conspiracies stands out in the universe of AC because of its modern setting, focus on politics, and its utilization of popular WW2 conspiracy theories. Assassin's Creed is like the MCU in that it has a massive amount of content across different mediums, all set in one universe, and like the MCU fans may struggle to keep track of every project. While AC: Conspiracies is great, it doesn't need to be adapted to another medium; its story has already been told.
WW2 Is Not A Good Fit For Assassin's Creed
Beyond the fact that Assassin's Creed: Conspiracies has already told the story of WW2 in the universe in a perfectly adequate manner, a game set in WW2 isn't a good fit for the series formula. While Assassin's Creed: Mirage is going against the grain of modern entries, setting a game during either world war would be a huge departure. Firearms have featured in the series before, but they would likely have to be a much larger part of combat in a modern entry. Even if the developers fully committed to fleshing out it's shooter elements, the game would risk losing some of its identity as an AC title since the series has always focused primarily on stealth and melee combat.
World War 2 games have long been a staple of gaming, and beyond their over-representation, the conflict's sprawling nature would make it a weird choice for Assassin's Creed. While AC is no stranger to huge open worlds, WW2 was fought across Africa, Asia, and Europe. Given this scale and the amount of battles that happened in the war, simulating all of this in a way that's satisfying would prove difficult. Setting the game in just one region would solve this issue but could leave the experience feeling incomplete.
Assassin's Creed Is Best At Presenting The Distant Past
Assassin's Creed is at its best when it's able to bring its fans into the past to a place that doesn't exist anymore. Given the contemporary nature of the Second World War, it would present a not-so-distant history filled with many places that can still be visited. This could take away from the excellent Discovery Tour Mode, which lets players peacefully explore the game's world and learn about the actual history of the period. Beyond the Discovery Tour Mode, Assassin's Creed has always focused on much older settings, and its ability to showcase long-gone ways of life series' charm.
After Assassin's Creed: Mirage, Ubisoft appears to be taking the franchise to feudal Japan in Assassin's Creed Red. Also announced is Assassin's Creed: Hexe, which, given the name, likely takes place in 1500-1600s Germany. This demonstrates the franchise's commitment to older periods of history that fit into the set of mechanics that Ubisoft has been building and fleshing out for decades. Conspiracies tells its story well and has allowed the franchise to explore contemporary history in a compelling way; it doesn't need to be rehashed in an Assassin's Creed game.