After a short wait, Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced is almost here. Its summer release date might feel strange looking at other recent entries in the series, but we all know the latter part of 2026 is abnormally busy. Plus… a pirate game is a perfect fit for early July, when you think about it.
The game’s nearby launch also means we’re getting the final details on the specific features it’s packing as well as the visual and performance targets on consoles. In this case, Ubisoft is once again partnering with PlayStation for the marketing push, and it appears PS5 Pro will be offering the sharpest visuals and highest performance if you’re not on PC.
Getting the obvious out of the way first, it’s been confirmed that Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced will support up to 60 frames per second, HDR for deeper colours, Dolby Atmos for more immersive audio, and DualSense haptic feedback, which is – if you ask me – one of PS5’s most underrated features. One would expect Xbox consoles to also support HDR, but we only know for sure Dolby Atmos is in for Microsoft’s hardware.
The PS5 console specifications when it comes to graphical modes and performance targets surprise with confirmation of an upscaled 2160p (4K) output across all modes on both the standard PS5 and the Pro. Of course, with the usual Performance (60 FPS), Balanced (40 FPS), and Fidelity (30 FPS) modes all listed, we have to assume the internal resolution the game’s rendered at will be lower the higher the framerate is.
Ray tracing usage – as shown off in the trailer above – will be following in Assassin’s Creed Shadows‘ footsteps, as Black Flag Resynced has also been built with the latest version of Ubisoft’s Anvil engine. That means limited coverage in its standard version (applied to the Performance mode) and extended use in the Balanced and Fidelity modes. This time around, however, Ubisoft has made sure the ‘basic’ ray tracing support focuses on global illumination, which was the most transformative use of the tech in Shadows. The ‘extras’ are reflections in this game, which are usually considered subtler additions to the makeover.
Unsurprisingly, PS5 Pro won’t sacrifice visual features to achieve 60 FPS across all modes. One has to imagine the main difference that may or may not push players to choose the Fidelity and Balanced modes over Performance will be higher internal resolution targets that should result in sharper outputs. That said, Sony’s PSSR upscaling – which has seen improvements in recent times – is handling the jump to 2160p, so you have the wonder if there’ll be a difference at all.
As a final note, there’s also mention of the strand-based hair system which already showed up in Shadows’ Balanced and Fidelity modes. It’s unclear which modes on base PS5 will get it (I’d personally bet on the same ones), but PS5 Pro is also getting it for Edward Kenway regardless of which option you choose. It’s also noted that Fidelity mode will also apply the tech to nearby NPCs, “while cinematics use strand-based hair for all characters regardless of mode”.
It won’t be long before we get our hands on the long-awaited remaster for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S. Last month, Eurogamer’s Dom Peppiatt went hands-on with it and pointed out that, while it felt a bit rough around the edges, they were “charmed by Ubisoft’s clear understanding of what makes this one of the most enduring entries in the Assassin’s Creed oeuvre”.
