The leak says the game currently code-named Rift will see the return of Basim Ibn Ishaq.
It's been almost two years since the release of Assassin's Creed Valhalla, the most recent addition to the series, which means we're definitely due for another—and it looks like we might get our first look at what's next at the upcoming Ubisoft Forward event in September.
The latest Ubisoft leak comes from YouTuber j0nathan (via Rebs Gaming), who claimed in a recent video that the proper title of the new game will be Assassin's Creed Mirage. It will be set in Baghdad between 860 and 870 CE, will be a return to the gameplay style of the original Assassin's Creed, and is expected out in the spring of 2023.
YouTuber j0nathan https://t.co/IgrqJfAV7u revealed this information on the new Assassins Creed game-Should be called Assassins Creed Mirage-Released in Spring 2023-The game will take place in Baghdad between the years 870-860-Return to basics, no leveling system pic.twitter.com/soCko92M6UAugust 30, 2022
The leak is in reference to the Assassin's Creed spinoff codenamed Rift, whose existence came to light earlier this year. It was originally envisioned as an expansion for Valhalla, but Ubisoft decided to spin it off into a standalone game in order to bolster its Assassin's Creed lineup. The Bloomberg report that revealed Rift said that it will feature the character Basim Ibn Ishaq, and will be smaller than recent releases in the series, with a heightened focus on stealth gameplay.
That all matches up with j0nathan's video, and Bloomberg journalist Jason Schreier—who wrote the February report on Rift—said on Twitter that parts of the report, including the title of the new game, setting, "return to basics" gameplay, and release target, are accurate. But he added that other elements, including that there will be multiple cities to explore, are not correct, and also expressed doubt that an Assassin's Creed remake will be released as part of the Mirage season pass.
The timeline cited in the video fits as well: In its Q1 2022-23 report, Ubisoft delayed a "smaller unannounced premium game" from its planned release this year to 2023-24.
To clarify, all of this is separate from Assassin's Creed Infinity, the existence of which Ubisoft confirmed in July. No details on that game have been revealed yet, but it's reportedly going to be a live-service game with multiple historic settings. We may not have heard much in the way of Assassin's Creed news over the past couple of years, but that doesn't mean that things aren't happening.
We should find out what's going on soon enough. Ubisoft has been keeping things quiet over the past year, but we have high hopes for the upcoming Ubisoft Forward 2022, a full-scale showcase that's set to take place on September 10.
