Assassin's Creed is Signaling the End of the Open-World RPG Era

The split between Assassin's Creed fans is as real as the split in the franchise, with the games preceding AC Origins being more action-adventure, stealth & parkour sandbox games versus the open-world RPG formula that started with Assassin's Creed Origins. Some fans prefer the older Assassin's Creed games, others (and many, many consumers) prefer the open-world RPGs. But there was always a middle ground, and it seems Ubisoft is catching up on that now—better late than never.

Imagine a world where Assassin's Creed Origins didn't kickstart an open-world formula, but kickstarted an era where every Assassin's Creed game was more unique from the next. The pivot to something new (in this context, open-world games) was needed after the franchise fatigue that wore away at the latter action-adventure games, but Assassin's Creed Odyssey, Valhalla, and Shadows took the Origins formula and bloated it, in some cases, beyond belief. But each game could have been something different and in its own skin, and that's the world Assassin's Creed is moving toward.

Black Flag and Mirage Are Not the Only Games to Buck the RPG Trend

The recent releases of Assassin's Creed prove that the dominance of open-world games is over. Yes, after Assassin's Creed Origins, we had the back-to-back open-world RPGs in Assassin's Creed Odyssey and Assassin's Creed Valhalla, but before Ubisoft made the jump to Japan in Assassin's Creed Shadows, we got a classic throwback in Assassin's Creed Mirage. Gameplay-wise, it feels like a 2026 sequel to the very first Assassin's Creed, and the surrounding restraints make for a pleasurable, more digestible experience.

Now, after the release of Assassin's Creed Shadows, we're getting a remake of Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag in July. It's introducing new content not seen in the original game, while cutting away at a few things, and overall, it seems to be going in the right direction. Some fans aren't happy about some changes, like the hidden blade combat in AC Black Flag Resynced, but by and large, it seems to be relatively smooth sailing. Despite months of rumors that it would become an open-world RPG, Ubisoft very loudly confirmed it was not an RPG at its initial reveal. So far, it does seem to have some RPG-lite elements, but the original game did too. One genre borrowing a small detail or two from another is commonplace in the industry.

Where this would be concerning is if these non-RPGs were then flooded afterward by three more open-world RPGs, but that's not the plan. Ubisoft's roadmap for Assassin's Creed games is very exciting because it takes that initial approach: everything is just a little bit different. As detailed by Insider Gaming, the following projects are in the works:

• Assassin's Creed Jade
• Assassin's Creed Invictus
• Assassin's Creed Hexe
• Assassin's Creed Scarlet
• Assassin's Creed Stardust
• Assassin's Creed Emerald

Every one of these is a Project Codename; ie, Invictus will not be titled Invictus at launch. However, I've argued for Assassin's Creed Hexe to retain its unique codename as a full title.

Assassin's Creed Jade

Assassin's Creed Jade is still in development, although it has been increasingly quiet lately, but it is a mobile game developed by Tencent in partnership with Ubisoft. In it, players create their own assassin and explore 3rd-century BC Ancient China. It will be a free-to-play RPG on Android and iOS devices, and while it does feature open-world elements, it is a mobile game. Which is not to disrespect mobile games, but to say the investment and grind in a mobile game is incredibly different from a massive PC/console open world.

Assassin's Creed Invictus

Assassin's Creed Invictus is a multiplayer game, described in the rumor mill as something akin to Fall Guys. That's not going to be everyone's cup of tea, for sure, and rumors suggest that testing is still trying to find the fun in Invictus. But a little multiplayer chaos, for funsies, thrown into a single-player franchise can be fine and dandy if done right. What's more important here is that we're not being inundated with open-world RPGs. This may be less exciting for older fans of the franchise, but it could also be a good way to introduce new fans to classic Assassin's Creed games.

Assassin's Creed Hexe

Assassin's Creed Hexe is my personal most anticipated game in the franchise. Believed to take place in the especially atrocious Wurzburg Witch Trials, Hexe is said to be a narrative/stealth experience and, more specifically, not an open-world RPG. That's perfect for the setting because Wuzburg was one of the worst Witch Trials in history, with tons of folks dying gruesome deaths.

The marketing thus far, as well as the premise, also makes it seem like there are some horror elements to it, to make it even more exciting. With many of the original Assassin's Creed Black Flag team working on Hexe, it feels like there's a reason Black Flag was the first one to get a remake.

Assassin's Creed Scarlet

Said to release after Assassin's Creed Hexe, and it is the next open-world RPG. Three games before it, with at least four games between it and Assassin's Creed Shadows is smart. Plus, it reportedly does exactly what Ubisoft should have been doing this entire time: something different from its counterparts. Insider Gaming believes this was previously known as Assassin's Creed Nebula, which is said to take place across three different settings: India, the Mediterranean, and the Aztec Empire. A multi-setting Assassin's Creed game is incredibly exciting.

Assassin's Creed Stardust

It is the second Assassin's Creed remake planned after Black Flag Resynced's release. Some believe the next Assassin's Creed remake will be AC1.

Assassin's Creed Emerald

Emerald will be another multiplayer game somewhere down the line, believed to be either the previously leaked Codename Raid or the Echoes game. If it's a raid-based multiplayer game, that could offer some unique insights into settings, lore, and/or the Assassin-Templar War. At least one of those projects has been canceled, per Insider Gaming, and it sounds more mature than Invictus. Assassin's Creed games did have multiplayer at one point, so it'll be interesting to see how MP titles fit into this new era at least.

RPG 3

Another RPG is believed to come sometime after the release of Scarlet, but nothing is known about it. Its existence may likely be dependent.

Remake 3

Another remake is believed to come sometime after the release of Black Flag and the second remake, but nothing is known about it. Its existence is likely dependent on the performance of prior remakes.

Assassin's Creed is Entering the Third Era

Once upon a time, there was an era of smaller-scale action-adventure games that released on an annual cadence. Eventually, that cadence wore away at fans, and Ubisoft replaced it with the Second Era, the RPG era, which saw fewer releases that were much bigger with massive open worlds. That's not so different from Assassin's Creed's Great Catastrophe, at that. And as that second era comes to an end, Ubisoft is planning one that does a little bit of everything and a few things differently. Core narrative experiences, multiplayer games, remakes, mobile games, and at least one open-world RPG (that sets itself apart with three settings) may define the Third Era, and it's one that appeals to me as a longstanding fan of the franchise.