Following several announcements from Ubisoft, new news is emerging about various Assassin’s Creed games in development, including the new Red project and the previously announced Rift.

According to Ubisoft’s financial report on 21 July, several Assassin’s Creed projects are in development. This is not necessarily news to those familiar with the franchise’s development cycle or Ubisoft’s size, and many games have been reported so far – but there is some new information. The project, codenamed Assassin’s Creed Red, is said to be part of the larger Infinity project, and it’s possible that this title could be the Assassin’s Creed game set in Japan that was previously reported.

However, Assassin’s Creed Infinity is a bit of a muddle.

Gamers need to know that it’s a “hub” game with multiple settings, and it will be the next mainline instalment in the Assassin’s Creed franchise. Details are scarce, but given that it’s a live-action title, Infinity will be released with a handful of settings and will expand along the way. It sounds like Assassin’s Creed Red is one of those titles, and it’s reportedly set in Asia, possibly Japan expressly.

It should be noted that another rumour has it that the new Assassin’s Creed location will be the Aztecs. It’s possible that this Aztec location is one of Infinity’s launch locations or could be tied to another project called Assassin’s Creed Rift.

Tales of Baghdad

This was first reported by Bloomberg and was reportedly previously an add-on for Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, which Ubisoft is turning into a full-fledged title. It’s supposedly going to be smaller scale, focused on stealth, starring Basim, and set in Baghdad – which probably means it’s going to explore Basim’s origins before Loki’s consciousness took over.

To the dismay of some fans, it seems that not everything is going smoothly for Assassin’s Creed Rift.

According to reports, Ubisoft has decided to make the title a standalone game instead of an expansion to fill holes in Ubisoft’s release schedule, which makes sense given the smaller scale, but Kotaku’s sources said that for some reason, “the game has been presented with new challenges despite its rushed completion”.

Along with the game’s faster turnaround time, a questionable decision at best, there seem to be a few problems. Kotaku, or more specifically its sources, didn’t add any more than that, but it’s not precisely hopeful news. Whatever it is, hopefully, the development cycle stays on track, and we can be better prepared for release.

Basim has recently been one of the franchise’s most popular characters, thanks to his heartbreaking and gripping story set in Valhalla. It’s clear he has a big future, perhaps in Assasin’s Creed Infinity, but the character’s pre-Valhalla reveal is an irresistible hook. Many fans of the classic games, and indeed Valhalla, would flock to the Rift at launch, so it’s perhaps even more critical now than Infinity.

What will become of the Rift remains to be seen, but if there is indeed a rush to release, we’ll know more soon.

Ubisoft is planning an “Assassin’s Creed Future” event for September, though it may be part of Ubisoft Forward planned for then, but either way, Infinity and/or the Rift will likely be there.

Source: Kotaku