Three years after reports of an Assassin’s Creed Black Flag remake first surfaced – and amid a mounting stack of evidence pointing to its imminent arrival – Ubisoft has finally made its worst-kept secret official.
Reports of a Black Flag remake first emerged in 2023, when it was claimed the celebrated 2013 open-world pirate game was getting the do-over treatment from Skull and Bones developer Ubisoft Singapore. At the time, the project was said to still be “at least a few years” away. Things went quiet for a while, but then last year saw actor Matt Ryan – who played Black Flag protagonist Edward Kenway – hint the remake was close to release, only for Ubisoft to threaten him with legal action.
And with that, the floodgates seemed to open: in December, something called Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced briefly appeared on the PEGI website, and January saw the leak of a suspiciously timed Assassin’s Creed Black Flag collectible figurine featuring Kenway sat on a treasure chest. We’ve also seen Black Flag sea shanties pop up briefly on Ubisoft’s official YouTube, we’ve had a sort of acknowledgment-adjacent meme post from Ubisoft’s social media team, and even a Black Flag art book sighting.
But now the Black Flag remake is as official as it’s ever been. In a newly released blog post outlining the future of the series, Ubisoft head of franchise Jean Guesdon wrote, “Speculation around Assassin’s Creed is not new, but it’s worth repeating: ‘Nothing is true. Everything is permitted.’ Well, except in this case, some whispers have a little more wind in their sails. Keep your spyglass on the horizon.” And if that wasn’t enough, some artwork of Kenway posing mastward, accompanied by the Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced logo, followed. There’s still no word on when it might finally show up, but hopefully more will be revealed soon.
As for the remainder of Ubisoft’s update, the company confirmed last year’s Assassin’s Creed Shadows is “moving into its final phase of support” and will begin winding down with “smaller, less frequent updates… but still a few surprises.” After that it’s eyes on the future, with talk of Ubisoft Montreal’s Assassin’s Creed Hexe – a “darker, narrative-driven” experience that appeared to be aiming for a 16th century European setting when it was announced back in 2022. It was originally believed to be targeting a 2026 release, but Guesdon says the company is now “taking the time to deliver on its ambitious vision, which means we’ll be quiet for a little longer.”
He also had a brief word on Codename Invictus, a “PvP multiplayer Assassin’s Creed experience” that’s being led by a team of For Honor veterans at Ubisoft Montreal. “We understand there’s a lot of curiosity around this project,” he wrote. “Yes, it’s a new approach to multiplayer in the franchise, but it isn’t quite what the rumours have suggested. With player feedback at the heart of our approach, we’re exploring ways to bring the community in earlier so we can shape the experience together.” And that’s your lot there.
Moving on, Codename Jade – a mobile collaboration with Tencent – also got a namecheck, alongside “several other projects currently in the works, all at different stages of development.” There was reference to “bringing co‑op back to Assassin’s Creed”, and a vague nod to a cancelled game. “While we recently chose to pivot away from an early project,” Guesdon wrote, “the lessons from that work are already helping shape our approach going forward.”
And wrapping things up, more news on Netflix’s live-action Assassin’s Creed series is “coming very soon”, and there’s a bit of a treat for Assassin’s Creed unity fans too. The French Revolution-era outing is getting a free Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5 patch – adding 60fps support – tomorrow 5th March. Which, if nothing else, should tide people over (no pun intended) until that Black Flag remake’s arrival, now we know the thing is actually, definitely, officially real.
