Assassin’s Creed’s future is in VR and the mobile space

Fresh off the 2023 Ubisoft Forward event, we now have a fresh look at some new Assassin’s Creed projects. Yes, Assassin’s Creed Mirage is right around the corner and looks like an excellent return to form. However, that stretches further, with both a mobile title and VR title for the series looking to take a stab at something new. Enter Assassin’s Creed Nexus and Assassin’s Creed Jade.

Assassin’s Creed Nexus

A fitting title for the VR entry, Nexus will have players donning their Meta Quests to get thrust into the shoes of an assassin. Players can experience entirely new stories for beloved characters Ezio (Assassin’s Creed II, Brotherhood and Revelations), Connor (Assassin’s Creed III) and Kassandra (Assassin’s Creed Odyssey). The very excuse to do so in-game is via, you guessed it, using Abstergo’s Animus.

While the gameplay look was largely cinematic and flashy trailer focused, I’m reeling at the potential here. Kassandra in particular is my favourite character in the entire franchise and the idea of getting to hop around Ancient Greece as her once more is exciting. Similarly, I cannot wait to springboard around Venice as Ezio, with Templars hot in pursuit. Those vibes sound unmatched.

While it’s still early days and I’m wanting to see more concrete footage, it’s certainly tempting me to dust off my Quest. Here’s hoping Nexus pulls it off in not just premise but execution.

Assassin’s Creed Jade

Assassin’s Creed Jade is the title that has a bit more questions surrounding it. It’s quite surprising to see Ubisoft giving another stab at mobile fixings for the series given the middling 2D Assassin’s Creed Chronicles titles. That being said, mobile gaming is in a lot better space these days, with projects only getting more and more high quality and technology continuing to improve.

Look, it’s another stab at an ancient Chinese setting (yes, there was one in the aforementioned Chronicles series). It’s an enticing setting that fans have been asking for. Though it’s not quite on the platform fans were perhaps hoping for, it’s a mobile title that, at least based on Ubisoft’s promises, doesn’t seem to be compromised and is instead a highly ambitious open world. The best-case scenario is it eventually comes to Switch and is a pretty decent game.

Beta registrations are open for that one now if you’re as curious as I am.

The Assassin’s Creed franchise, if you can believe it, has been running for nearly sixteen years. Though we’ve had that series of burnout from time to time (especially that period where continuous releases came out back to back annually), we’ve also had periods of slower times for the IP to breathe. One might look at all these moves Ubisoft is making and fear we’re entering that overexposure period again. However, if all else there are now at least different types of experimentation going on with the franchise.

As recent as a few years ago I didn’t think I’d be excited about the Assassin’s Creed franchise again, but here I am. Are you excited about any of Ubisoft’s plans for the Templar killing series? Does delving into VR tickle your fancy with Nexus? Or are you more excited to do some exploring on the go with Jade? Let us know in the replies!