Ubisoft is reportedly working on a remake of Assassin’s Creed 4, as they had long planned.
Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag was originally released around a decade ago, coming to PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Wii U. In 2019 it was ported to the Nintendo Switch, alongside Assassin’s Creed Rogue, under Assassin’s Creed: The Rebel Collection.
The game revolves around the adventures of Edward Kenway, a Welsh privateer who becomes a pirate, and later, a member of the British Brotherhood of Assassins. His adventures serve to be an important anchor to the game that came before it, Assassin’s Creed 3, and the game that released close to it, the side story of Assassin’s Creed Rogue.
But the reason Assassin’s Creed 4 is fondly remembered is in the gameplay itself. Taking control of Edward’s ship, the Jackdaw, opens up figurative and virtual new worlds in the franchise, as its naval free roam and combat mechanics provide new gameplay modes to create variety in the game’s action. Many gamers would conclude that these mechanics are fully enjoyable in themselves. In fact, that is the very raison d’etre for the existence of another upcoming naval exploration and combat game from Ubisoft, Skull and Bones.
As reported by Tech4Gamers, several Ubisoft developers who were working on Skull and Bones have updated their LinkedIn profiles to indicate that they have moved on to an ‘unannounced Assassin’s Creed Project’.
Now, it is possible that this could be referring to an entirely new project; possibly a new upcoming Assassin’s Creed main title or spinoff which also features naval action. The reason many insiders are linking it to Assassin’s Creed 4, is because rumors of an Assassin’s Creed 4 remake have been going around for much longer.
Ubisoft’s current strategy has been defined by trying to recover from a string of mixed and poorly received releases, that mirrors their ongoing controversies behind the scenes. They have greenlit several other remakes of their most popular games, such as Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Splinter Cell, and Beyond Good and Evil.
This Assassin’s Creed 4 remake presumably will be Ubisoft running on all cylinders, and the studio will avoid taking too many risks in favor of making something that fans will want to buy en masse. But if they have just started working on this remake, we will be waiting for quite some time before it releases, even after a new console generation.