Next Assassin’s Creed game reportedly undergoing big changes to make it ‘more grounded’

While the Black Flag remake may have Assassin’s Creed fans’ attention for now, the game’s next mainline entry is reportedly in the middle of some good old-fashioned Ubisoft tumult.

Assassin’s Creed: Codename Hexe is due to launch next year, but it’s recently been undergoing a big shake-up behind the scenes, according to a report by Insider Gaming’s Tom Henderson. Little official info has been released about the title so far, but we do know for certain that it’s based around the period of the witch trials in the Holy Roman Empire.

New AC franchise overseer Jean Guesdon has been instilling tweaks, including the removal of a cat companion character, in efforts to make the witchcraft themes “more grounded,” according to the report. Not only that, but actual witch-like powers are now being replaced by “the game’s protagonist understanding the science of chemicals,” like her knowing “how to make a smoke bomb, which, to ordinary citizens, makes it look like she can disappear.”

So, she’s basically a magician, I guess? Not very witchy. And I’m not sure why a series that features things like the Animus and the Apple of Eden feels the need to be more “grounded,” either.

What’s worse is that, as part of the development shuffling, the report says that Guesdon has taken 50 developers off the project and put them onto an “interproject team.” Henderson cites unnamed sources who said that “members of the Interproject team are required to secure a project at Ubisoft within a three-month period, or they could face redundancy” and potentially get laid off.

The next Assassin’s Creed game after Black Flag: Resynced is currently set to launch in June 2027, according to the report, but the recent changes on the dev team could push it back to the holiday season next year instead, Henderson suggests.

I personally haven’t dabbled in the AC franchise for quite some time, and the idea of witchcraft being a theme in Hexe had me excited. If that’s being changed now, though, it’s a bit disappointing to hear.

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PlayStation exclusive Saros is coming soon, and not long is left before you can dive in and enjoy the content. The exact release date and time will differ based on which edition you’ve purchased. Nevertheless, this guide has you covered regarding the exact moment you’ll be able to enjoy what Saros has to offer.

Saros release countdown

Saros goes live globally on April 29 in the Americas, but on April 30 in other regions. However, there’s an early access window that is available with the Digital Deluxe Edition. The early access offers up to 48 hours of extra gameplay for the owners. The following countdown will expire once the early access begins.

[hurrytimer id=”1210198″]

The countdown is based on the following timings.

• 9pm PDT (April 27)
• 11pm CDT (April 27)
• 12am EDT
• 4am UTC
• 5am BST
• 6am CET
• 1pm JST
• 2pm AEST

The following countdown will expire once the Standard Edition goes live. This is the official time of launch when everyone can start enjoying the content.

[hurrytimer id=”1210199″]

• 9pm PDT (April 29)
• 11pm CDT (April 29)
• 12am EDT
• 4am UTC
• 5am BST
• 6am CET
• 1pm JST
• 2pm AEST

What to expect from Saros

Saros is a PS5 exclusive that puts you in the shoes of Arjun Devraj. As a Soltari enforcer, you’re tasked with investigating Carcosa. At its heart, the game is a rogue-lite experience, where failure will happen. However, you will still gain something from one run that you can carry to the next one.

Every run will feature dangerous enemies and bosses to take down. To help your cause, you’ll be able to customize your loadout and improve your weapons across your runs. You’ll also gain different resources that will help you to do that. Finally, you can always make use of your Second Chance mechanic (needs to be unlocked), which works as a reset switch if something goes terribly wrong.

While things look and sound pretty exciting, Saros will only be available to PS5 players for the time being. There’s always a chance for it to arrive later on PC, but that seems quite unlikely as of writing.

The post Saros release countdown: Exact date and time appeared first on Destructoid.