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Assassin’s Creed planned more variety and longer game support

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Assassin’s Creed planned more variety and longer game support

RED would continue the RPG track in feudal Japan, while HEXE was set to take a different gameplay approach; both were planned for INFINITY.

Ubisoft’s plan for Assassin’s Creed’s next era was to stop releasing an RPG every year and give its games longer support.

Ubisoft described the franchise as having an action-adventure period, followed by an RPG period encompassing Origins, Odyssey, and Valhalla, and entering a third period. Assassin’s Creed Mirage was presented as a bridge: it follows Basim Ibn Is'haq’s rise from street thief to master assassin in ninth-century Baghdad, and Marc-Alexis Côté said its gameplay sat between the RPG style and the series’ earlier approach.

Assassin’s Creed Codename RED would carry on the RPG track in feudal Japan. Ubisoft Quebec was developing it, with Jonathan Dumont, creative director of Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, leading the team.

Ubisoft said its historical-research expertise had grown enough to approach Japanese culture in a way that felt true to both the culture and the franchise’s approach to settings.

A separate track for HEXE

[UN] The Future of Assassin’s Creed Heads to Feudal Japan, Brings Back Multiplayer - Hexe
The Assassin's Creed Codename Hexe logo shows a bundle of sticks hanging over a pentagram with mystical symbols on a dark background. Image: Ubisoft

Assassin’s Creed Codename HEXE was meant to feel different from RED. Ubisoft Montreal was developing it, with Clint Hocking leading the team, whose credits include Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory. Côté said Ubisoft was taking a different approach to gameplay innovation for HEXE, but did not disclose many details about what that meant.

Ubisoft planned to put both games in Assassin’s Creed Codename INFINITY, a centralized place to access future Assassin’s Creed games. The wider announcement also included Assassin’s Creed Codename JADE, a new AAA mobile game, and more information about the upcoming live-action collaboration with Netflix.