Rumor: No ‘Assassin’s Creed’ In 2016 As Series Revamps With Egyptian Location

Could Ubisoft give the Assassin’s Creed series a year off in 2016? That’s one rumor that cropped up from multiple sources on Monday. PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC gamers may next see the annualized series in 2017 with an all new Egyptian theme.

The Assassin’s Creed rumor started with an anonymous 4chan user claiming to be a Ubisoft developer. His postings were collected over at gaming forum NeoGAF. The rumor starter flatly stated, “There won’t be an [Assassin’s Creed] in 2016. You may screencap this and refer to it when nothing is shown in E3 2016. You’ll have to wait until 2017 for it.”

Additionally, the poster states the next Assassin’s Creed will be set in ancient Egypt prior to the Assassins and Templars even existing. This is claimed to allow Ubisoft the freedom to take the game in whatever direction they want without worrying greatly about historical accuracy.

The main character is claimed to be a slave or an ex-slave with darker skin. Meanwhile, the world is said to be colorful with “blue skies, lush vegetation and desert sequences where you get mirage[s].”

The poster adds that the game world is built from scratch, which is to be expected going back that far in time and to a vastly different location. The only thing that will be recycled from previous games is animations.

This rumor started by a single 4chan poster does not have much merit on its own. However, separate sources with Kotaku have seemingly confirmed the assertions of the alleged Ubisoft developer.

“The next Assassin’s Creed, which we believe is set in ancient Egypt and code-named Empire, won’t launch until 2017, according to both a new online rumor and sources speaking to Kotaku. One person familiar with Ubisoft’s upcoming gaming plans told me this afternoon that the decision to delay Empire from fall 2016 was made after 2014’s disappointing Unity, and that this bump will allow the development team more room to improve and polish the game. The source said this biennial approach could be a new trend for Assassin’s Creed, which has suffered from franchise fatigue in recent years.”

“I’d heard last year from three different people familiar with goings-on at Ubisoft that the next big Assassin’s Creed would be set in ancient Egypt. Since this morning, two other independent sources have contacted me to corroborate that. I heard about the code name Empire from two of those sources. Three of them told me the game would indeed launch in 2017. Months ago, one source told me the game would also take place in ancient Rome, although that may have changed; the 4chan poster says some sections had been removed from the game.”

This may be the correct time for Assassin’s Creed to take a break and Ubisoft consider its annual release approach. Assassin’s Creed Unity was notoriously buggy at launch to the point the publisher had to offer all of its DLC for free. Assassin’s Creed Syndicate was released in a much better condition, but still had a fair share of issues that have plagued the franchise since it went to annual releases starting in 2009. The negative word in the gaming community on Unity also undoubtedly affected sales of Syndicate.

That doesn’t necessarily mean 2016 will be completely devoid of Assassin’s Creed, however. The 2.5D platformers, Assassin’s Creed Chronicles Chronicles: India and Russia, are due out in 2016 for the PS4, Xbox One, PC, and PS Vita. Meanwhile, there are additional rumors of an Assassin’s Creed Collection release for 2016, which could contain remasters or upgrades of the first handful of Assassin’s Creed releases. There’s also the December Assassin’s Creed movie starring Michael Fassbender.

Do you think Assassin’s Creed will take a year off from a brand new AAA release? Sound off in the comments below.

[Image via Assassin’s Creed]