We have some interesting new rumors about Assassin’s Creed appearing on Nintendo platforms.
When Assassin’s Creed first came on the scene in 2007, it became a hit on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Windows, but not on Nintendo. Ubisoft was one of the rare loyal 3rd party studios for Nintendo, but they couldn’t quite bring the exploits of the Assassin’s and Templars to Nintendo’s platform, at least not at the same scale as other platforms.
Their first foray on Nintendo was Assassin’s Creed: Altair’s Chronicles in 2008. This was a spinoff of the original game, and served as a prequel. Jump four years and Ubisoft brought proper ports of Assassin’s Creed III and Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag at the same time as other consoles.
Ubisoft showed a more earnest effort to bring Assassin’s Creed to Nintendo fans when they finally got to the Nintendo Switch. The second to the sixth games in the franchise all appeared on Nintendo’s platform, from Assassin’s Creed II to Assassin’s Creed Rogue. That also included all the DLC for all these games, and their spinoffs, Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation, and Assassin’s Creed Freedom Cry.
Today, as shared on the GamingLeaksandRumours subreddit by user Astraliguss, we have word that Ubisoft is planning to bring the upcoming title Assassin’s Creed Shadows to Nintendo’s console after the Switch. That’s the one that hasn’t been formally revealed yet, but fans and press have dubbed the Switch 2. We don’t know if that will be its actual name, but to keep things simple, we will just call it the Switch 2 from here on out.
Nash Weedle is the primary source for this rumor, and he claims that Ubisoft intends to have it ready for the Switch 2’s launch. Necro Felipe replied to Nash Weedle’s tweet, to back up this particular claim.
If it’s true, it will be the first time in over a decade that a new Assassin’s Creed game is releasing on a Nintendo platform at the same time as other platforms. That may not reflect on the power of the Switch 2 – Assassin’s Creed Rogue was released on both seventh and eight generation consoles. But it certainly looks like Assassin’s Creed Shadows is made for the ninth generation, so the Switch 2 may have some serious power if it is capable of running it.
But Nash Weedle goes further than that. He also claims that Assassin’s Creed Origins, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, and Assassin’s Creed Mirage are all also coming to the Switch 2. Even more fantastic than that, all those ports are coming within the Switch 2’s launch window, AKA, the first six months of its release.
If this rumor is true, it would be a confirmation that the Switch 2 is as or more powerful than the eight generation consoles PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. It would also mean nearly the entire Assassin’s Creed franchise would have come to Nintendo’s platform. These may seem to be bold claims, but it also lines up with an earlier rumor that a lot of 3rd parties have prepared big games for the console when it releases.
That seems to be motivated by third parties not wanting to miss out on the Switch 2’s launch hype, the way they did for the original Switch’s launch. But another way of looking at this, is it’s the industry seeing that they don’t need to wait for the PlayStation 5 Pro or Grand Theft Auto 6 to bounce back. The industry has a lot of paths to get back to where they once were, and we hope all of them succeed.
