Ubisoft has reassured fans concerned by the minimal blood seen in yesterday’s Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced reveal.
During the game’s big livestream premiere, numerous viewers commented on the lack of claret seen in Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced gameplay, leaving action sequences looking oddly sanitized. In response, producer Justin Ng has now addressed the situation via social media, and confirmed that gameplay shown during the reveal had been “toned down.”
“A few things to quickly address I guess (without getting into trouble hopefully),” Ng wrote on X/Twitter. “There WILL be blood in the final game, and it will not be a paid DLC. We hear the feedback on the VFX and audio cues on fight. It’s being toned down.”
The situation sounds similar to when Resident Evil Requiem popped up recently in a Nintendo livestream. No blood was shown there either, presumably to ensure the broadcast was suitable for as wide an audience as possible. (At least in the Black Flag Resynced reveal, Edward was still able to land his shots.)
Ubisoft has included an option to turn off blood in most recent Assassin’s Creed games, including Odyssey, Valhalla and Shadows. Presumably, the same toggle will exist in Black Flag Resynced — and was switched on to showcase the game yesterday. A+ news all round, hopefully.
Ng also replied to a fan asking whether the original Black Flag’s social stealth mechanics would be maintained, allowing players to blend into groups and hire dancers to distract enemies. “It’s still there #Faithful,” Ng confirmed.
Response to yesterday’s livestream was otherwise mostly positive, although some of the stream’s chat participants could be seen complaining that the game’s popular Freedom Cry DLC would not be integrated. Currently, the suggestion is this content won’t be remade and sold separately either.
Over on reddit, some fans have pointed out the reuse of certain animations from past Assassin’s Creed games, such as a particular neck pull and sword stab from Assassin’s Creed Unity, and other moves from the more recent Assassin’s Creed Mirage. But this practice of reusing animations is far from new in the franchise. In cutscenes, meanwhile, it looks like the original game’s performancs and motion capture are also preserved.
Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag Resynced will finally launch on July 9 priced at $59.99, and there’s a $200 Collector’s Edition, too.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
