Updates On The Future Of AC & Black Flag Remaster Confirmed

It is an exciting time to be an Assassin’s Creed fan, with Ubisoft yesterday making an announcement on social media, in the form of a video with newly appointed franchise Head of Content Jean Guesdon, giving major updates on the future of the franchise. This provided updates on the heavily anticipated Codename games in the from of Hexe, the mobile game Jade, as well as the multiplayer experience Invictus. There was also word on the remaining support left for Assassin’s Creed Shadows, and of course, the official confirmation of a remaster of Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag, officialy titled Assassin's Creed Black Flag - Resynced. Ubisoft teased its existence with a piece of artwork of protagonist Edward Kenway with the new updated logo for the game with the new title underneath it. They also worded it with some pirate-themed comments to officially confirm that the remaster is real.

The significance of this announcement is a true act of appreciation from the developers at Ubisoft, directed at their dedicated fanbase, that has stuck by them for nearly two decades and counting. Their transparency with the community is very respectful and shows that the developers care about their fans, and felt it only right to share these major updates with their loyal audience. The fact that it was a string of announcements and not one singular update shows, they are excited to share what is in store for the franchise, and that nearly two decades later, the series is as strong as ever and not slowing down one bit.

As mentioned, it was announced that support for the most recent game in the series, Assassin’s Creed Shadows, will slowly start being phased out as the game nears its first anniversary this month, which makes sense and happens all the time in order to give developers time to focus on their future projects, and divert manpower and resources. Guesdon shared that even though support for Shadows is nearing its end, it has some great surprises left and will go out on a high note. It is a perfect send-off to an important game in the series. It only feels right to end with a bang rather than let the hype dwindle down. It is a great thing that Ubisoft plans on ending strongly on such a great game in the series, as fans who loved and still play the game certainly deserve a proper sendoff.

The Black Flag remaster was another major surprise. While it was not a full reveal and more of a tease, the official annoucement already has fans excited and worked up, and more news and details are bound to come sooner than later!

The information they shared for the highly anticipated upcoming game, Codename Hexe, was short but meaningful. They stated it is set in a pivotal moment in history and that they plan to remain silent for a bit longer, but love the fans' hype and enthusiasm for the project. It was a short update, certainly, but just the fact they are acknowledging the game that so many fans are excited for is a great move from Ubisoft to continue to build up the hype even further. The other game with a codename that received an update was Codename Invictus, which is confirmed to be a PvP online multiplayer game, which is significant because in the past the last time an Assassin’s Creed game had multiplayer as an option was 2014’s Assassin’s Creed Unity, which players loved despite it still being the last taste of online the franchise has seen. Now, over ten years later, a full-fledged online game that is its own title rather than attached to a single player game, is progressing along in development. The interesting part about this is that it is a competitive PvP in the Assassin’s Creed universe, which is something almost unseen before as while Unity had multiplayer as a feature, it was co-op gameplay with friends and teammates, the option to face other players was not available, so a dedicated Assassin’s Creed game that is all about multiplayer is truly an exciting project in the works from Ubisoft, and it's a good thing to get an update on it as word surrounding Codename Invictus was scarce, understandably, the way Ubisoft would want it.

Another couple goodies that were announced today was also an update on the upcoming Assassin’s Creed Netflix series, sharing that while it has been a long time coming, the development has been going smoothly over the last months and has even had casting updates announced all within a few months or so. Ubisoft also made sure to give one final treat, in the form of the announcement of a 60FPS update for Assassin’s Creed Unity for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, which is a big deal as many of the older games in the series have received a patch to make it look more advanced, and Unity was considered ahead of its time with visuals and gameplay, so getting this update for a game like this one is excellent news. The update drops today March 5th.

All in all, it was an unexpectedly huge day for fans of the Assassin’s Creed series and all gamers alike. There was no way to predict getting such a huge update for all the future projects in the franchise, so the surprise announcement was a good and smart move to treat fans when they would least expect it. In the past, many major gaming franchises would be slowing down or already dead in a matter of a few years, but nearly 20 years in, there are absolutely zero signs of AC slowing down, and the future of the franchise is as bright as it has ever been. Nearly at the two decade mark, Assassin’s Creed continues to be the gaming dynasty it truly is and shows that even with age, this franchise can still be more alive than ever.