Assassin's Creed Producer Explains Why It Is Finally Taking Series to Japan
After years of demand, Ubisoft's next Assassin's Creed game, Assassin's Creed Codename Red, is set in Japan. The Assassin's Creed series has made a name for itself by jumping across time and locations to let players live out major points in history. One of the most significant moments in history, the Revolutionary War, was the setting for Assassin's Creed 3 and other games have dabbled in different key moments in time. Despite going to Rome, America, Greece, London, and more, the series has never been to Japan, despite intense demand for such an entry. After all, it only makes sense given the history with samurai and/or ninjas.
Today, at the Ubisoft Forward event, Ubisoft confirmed that its next mainline Assassin's Creed RPG will be set in Japan. In an interview on Ubisoft's blog, Vice President Executive Producer of the Assassin's Creed brand, Marc-Alexis Côté, addressed why it has taken so long for Ubisoft to tackle feudal Japan in the series. He noted that the team wanted to be sure it was actually ready and had the experience necessary to tackle such a big subject and the work on the previous RPGs in the series allowed them to feel comfortable in doing so.
"I feel we now have the expertise and the knowledge to tackle a subject that is more difficult to address," Côté stated. "Yes, we've wanted to do Japan before, but I think the teams have reached a level of maturity in the way they research history that allows them to approach this culture that's very different from our own in a way that will feel true to both the culture and to the way we approach settings in Assassin's Creed. We really feel that this is a setting and a culture that we need to nail. We need to have an absolutely exceptional product. Given the high expectations that people have, and that I've always had, I feel we have the team, we have the knowledge, we have the research structure to be able to support an exceptional-quality product."
Of course, it seems like this game is a ways away, especially since it doesn't seem to have a proper title and we only saw a tiny teaser with very minimal information. Ubisoft has confirmed it will be a part of its new live-service platform game, Assassin's Creed Infinity, though it's still a bit unclear how that will work. Rumors suggest the game could be ready for a 2024 release, but only time will tell. It's likely we won't hear much about it until Assassin's Creed Mirage is released next year.
What do you think of Assassin's Creed Codename Red? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @Cade_Onder.