Assassin’s Creed: Rift, the next entry in Ubisoft’s long-standing sandbox stealth series, is allegedly set in Baghdad, and focuses on Basim from Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla. November, however, will mark the 15th anniversary of the entire AC series, and fans are debating possible new directions, including a move to a more modern, Cold War setting.
Until now, Assassin’s Creed has been largely wedded to the melee, sword-and-shield combat that made the first game unique, with the addition of guns in entries like Assassin’s Creed 3 and Black Flag feeling like reluctant concessions to historical accuracy. Moving the series to the 20th century, amid the nuclear tensions between the Soviet Union and America, would certainly demand a transformation of core mechanics, but perhaps, after a decade and a half, that’s precisely what Assassin’s Creed requires.
“Spy vs spy would be a great fit for AC,” writes one user on Reddit. “I imagine this would feel sorta like a cross between Syndicate and Chronicles: Russia.”
“Massively,” replies another user. “Berlin from WW2 to 1989 would be a fascinating location. Perfect for a proper spy thriller.”
Ubisoft already has modern stealth action games in the form of Rainbow Six and Splinter Cell, which is currently slated for a remake, and could serve as the template for a revived Assassin’s Creed.
The Cold War setting also seems ripe for more attention – Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War had a solid campaign, and we’re still curious about Rockstar’s Agent, which is almost certainly cancelled, but carried an intriguing, espionage-based premise.
“I always loved the idea of an AC game starting from the end of WWI in Russia and ending at the Cold War,” writes another Assassin’s Creed fan. “You’d follow a character from a teenager coming back from the war to a veteran assassin in his late 60s. I’d have the player assassinate Stalin as the finale, and have a DLC epilogue set during the later years of the Cold War.”
We have to say, it sounds promising, although based on what we currently know, Ubisoft is focused on Assassin’s Creed: Infinity, a live service and dedicated hub for the series that will be continually updated. It’s not expected to release until 2024 at the earliest, but it’s likely to encompass and connect to any future standalone AC games. Assassin’s Creed: Rift meanwhile has recently been delayed until 2023.