As may know, Assassin’s Creed is expected to have a new release in 2020 that takes players back to the Viking Era. Most of the information surrounding the game can be chalked up to hearsay and rumor, but if there’s one thing that’s practically guaranteed, it’s that setting. That wasn’t always seemingly the case, though, as this particular trilogy has been teased since Assassin’s Creed 3. In that game, images teased a Egypt, Greece, and Japan setting—but clearly something’s amiss. But not just there.
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Assassin’s Creed Time Period and Settings: Viking Era, Japan, Summer of Love, and More
Since it appeared in Assassin’s Creed 3 and was seemingly fulfilled by the Egyptian and Greek games Assassin’s Creed Origins and Odyssey, Japan seemed to be a lock for what’s next initially. The Eye of Horus, Greek Omega, and Torri symbols correspond to Egypt, Greece, and Japan, so the Viking Era is a far cry from that. This is especially notable because Assassin’s Creed has openly admitted that Japan was one of its most asked-for locations.
This begs the question of why the sudden change, and while there could be any number of factors to a decision like this, there’s one major one that’s clearly visible to the naked eye: competition. Recently, there has been an uptick in Japanese-oriented Samurai-style games such as Nioh 2 and Ghost of Tsushima that Assassin’s Creed could not have predicted when the third numbered title released back in 2012. It’s possible that Egypt-Greece-Japan was a planned series of games that, because of this, changed. A Ghost of Tsushima dev was happy not to see the franchise not go to Japan at the time of Origin’s announcement, reportedly, and this is because of the competition that would naturally emerge between the two.
If Japan was the only time that Assassin’s Creed avoided its own setting and time period teases, it wouldn’t be as noticeable, but this simply isn’t the case. AC4, for example, teased a number of locations that did come to life but others that have not (in exchange for an unteased setting) such as the Summer of Love. Many have spoken up saying that a Summer of Love Assassin’s Creed game would just be a weird take on Watch Dogs, and that’s something notable: in both plausible scenarios, Assassin’s Creed is compared to something else.
That’s not to say that Assassin’s Creed couldn’t survive or even outdo its competition—Origins and Odyssey are a rebirth of the franchise after all—but that wasn’t a guarantee pre-launch. Ubisoft had to take the road less traveled, protect its newfound success with the latest titles, and that means Red Dead Redemption 2 is Assassin’s Creed’s worst enemy.
Red Dead Redemption 2’s Take on the American Midwest, Ousting Assassin’s Creed
In the same AC4 Abstergo Email that teased the Summer of Love, the American Midwest was also teased. It could have been a Red Herring on that email, though most of those are more noticeable like a 12th century Egyptian game (that clearly did not come to fruition—Origins is set in the time of the new millennia). Initially, some were even suspect of what such a game could even look like, as its general setting didn’t really match the more “urban” aspects of the franchise, but Black Flag, Origins, and Odyssey prove that the need for cities isn’t something set in stone.
Unlike Japan, though, the American Midwest isn’t explored by a bunch of games that would put pressure on the franchise. But it is explored by one franchise that Assassin’s Creed wouldn’t likely want to be compared to: Red Dead Redemption, the sequel most likely. Now, it’s worth mentioning that the Assassin’s Creed franchise and Red Dead Redemption franchise are dear to gamers the world over, but for different reasons. A comparison between the two now, even the two that shared a release month (again, Odyssey and RDR2) is apple and oranges.
However, if Assassin’s Creed did commit to an American Midwest game, that comparison would have a much better base line and would be unavoidable. It would be a battle in terms of which game depicted it better, which game played better, and so much more that would be more disastrous for Assassin’s Creed than it would be Red Dead Redemption 2, if only because the latter is already available. And there’d be no statute of limitations on this comparison either: Red Dead Redemption 2’s story, again, is a masterpiece, and any American Midwest game would likely be dwarfed by it. Even from a household series like Assassin’s Creed.
While many highly anticipated the day an Assassin’s Creed Japan game is revealed, the American Midwest is likely a tease that’ll remain left to the wayside. That’s not a bad thing, either; in fact, it’s quite the opposite. Assassin’s Creed may avoid this time period and setting because of Red Dead Redemption 2 and other contributing factors, but this just means that fans are treated to many more historical time periods with a plethora of games. Because even still, if Assassin’s Creed Ragnarok explores the same themes as God of War, a real possibility, one is a historical-based game whereas one is more fantasy.
All things considered, those comparisons which seem inevitable will still be apples and oranges, whereas Red Dead Redemption 2 and an AC Midwest game would not be. This approach may disappoint some, but it’s also the best way to give gamers the full cornucopia.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is out now for PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One.
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