It’s been nearly a decade since 2013’s Black Flag installment of the iconic Assassin’s Creed gaming mega-franchise. One of the main games of the transition between seventh and eighth-generation gaming platforms, Black Flag is regarded as one of the better installments of the series both in terms of gameplay and narrative. Now, fans interested in the world and characters of Black Flag are getting the chance to return with an all-new vertical-scrolling webtoon, Assassin’s Creed: Forgotten Temple.
An official collaboration between Ubisoft and the South Korea-based digital comics platform Webtoon, Forgotten Temple is set as a direct sequel to the events of Black Flag. The new webtoon is set to considerably expand on the postgame events of the story, focusing in particular on the character of Edward Kenway and his continuing relationship with the Assassin Brotherhood.
“Edward Kenway is on a dangerous quest to find Pieces of Eden on the coasts of the Southeast Asian seas – and will have to face off with new and mysterious adversaries,” Ubisoft and Webtoon described of the comic in a statement to GameZXC. “Fans will also be introduced to Noa, a Korean American descendant of Edward Kenway, who investigates the Assassin’s past in the present day while searching for information about his family.”
The webtoon is set to come out sooner rather than later, with its first six episodic installments launching on Webtoon on April 24, 2023. The full comic is set to be comprised of 150 individual installments, afterward released in weekly updates. The art for the comic is being provided by the Korean studio REDICE, which has collaborated on several of Webtoon’s higher-profile adaptations including Omniscient Reader, 7Fates: CHAKHO, and I’m the Max-Level Newbie.
With REDICE’s creative focus on adaptations, it’s easy to see the studio as well-equipped to handle such a high-level property. “Assassin’s Creed is a one-of-a-kind IP, and our goal was to create a work that would be appealing not only to fans of the original game, but also to readers who are encountering the Assassin's Creed IP for the first time through WEBTOON. We are thrilled to work with UBISOFT and WEBTOON to tell a new side of the Edward James Kenway story set in Southeast Asia. We can’t wait for fans to dive into this rich new storyline and entry into the Assassin’s Creed universe,” the studio says in Ubisoft and Webtoon’s statement.
Webtoon’s pedigree in the sphere of comic and anime content is impressive, with its past premium content resulting in several hit anime series including Tower of God and The God of High School. It remains to be seen exactly how Forgotten Temple will adapt and expand upon the Black Flag lore, but fans looking to revisit a classic of the Assassin’s Creed franchise won’t have to wait much longer to set sail.