With the next entry in the Assassin's Creed series looking likely to release in 2022, there are so many theories about where developer Ubisoft will go next. The franchise never seems to stay in one place for too long, and rumors have been swirling about where it will go, from the history-draped city of Baghdad to the largely untapped areas around East Asia. The latter is something that fans have wanted for a while, as Japan's rich history and culture makes it ripe for further exploration.
Ubisoft has already worked wonders in bringing Assassin's Creed players to the sand-swept landscape of Ptolemaic Egypt and the harsh, unforgiving fields of medieval England, and there's every reason to presume that it could make a stellar experience on the islands of Honshu, Hokkaido, Shikoku, or Okinawa. Japan has so much to offer both the video game medium and the Assassin's Creed franchise itself, and fans have been salivating at the thought of finally receiving the Japan-set game that they've wanted for years.
Ubisoft's Exceptional Settings
Any Assassin's Creed title is only as good as the setting it creates. While characters like Ezio and Kassandra are memorable thanks to their performances, writing, and character models and the combat is being refined with every new release, today it's often the open world that is the first thing to capture players' attention. The Ancient Greece of Assassin's Creed Odyssey is positively gorgeous, and while Japan offers hugely different architecture and land masses, it's not a stretch to presume that if any franchise can do Japan justice, it's Assassin's Creed.
Crafting an accurate, yet engaging open world in the vast and diverse country of Japan would be putting the company's strengths to work, as Ubisoft has proven that it can forge a landscape that is as fun to explore as it is to look at. The hustle and bustle of medieval Kyoto is drastically different from the tranquil rural areas in the Okinawa Prefecture, and Assassin's Creed is in prime position to bring both to a AAA video game should Ubisoft finally decide to do so. Fans want a Japan-set game in the franchise because the company has showed it is more than capable of making it happen, while also handling the setting with the grace and respect it deserves.
Ghost of Tsushima Got There First
Sucker Punch's history with the Infamous franchise meant that it was familiar with the open-world format when it took its talents to the previously unknown island of Tsushima for its 2020 project. What resulted from its hard work was a game that felt like a swansong for its native PlayStation 4, and one of its best exclusives to date. Ghost of Tsushima presented a stunning, historically accurate setting and gripping story set during the Mongol invasion of the island in 1274, and Sucker Punch was praised greatly for its efforts in recreating the island while implementing a wholly fictional tale with relative ease.
Its critical and commercial reception was more than deserved, but for many it raised questions about how Assassin's Creed would handle the setting. Ghost of Tsushima and Assassin's Creed have plenty of similarities like open level design, a stealth/action gameplay loop and loot-based upgrades, so players drew clear comparisons between the two. Sucker Punch has a decorated resume, but it's easy to theorize about how a developer with more experience converting historical settings to fictional games would have improved upon what Ghost of Tsushima had to offer. Should Assassin's Creed finally take its huge name to Japan, that question could finally be answered, and fans are right to have that at the top of their gaming desires.
Japan Has Been Rumored For Years
Some rumors around the Assassin's Creed franchise may have been proven right, but the one that consistently eludes players is the seemingly annual rumor that it would finally take the hint and set a game in feudal Japan. The franchise has been all around the world from Colonial America to the 18th century Caribbean, and covered so many time periods from 400 B.C to Victorian London just after the industrial revolution. Since 2015, Japan has been rumored for Assassin's Creed and nothing has come to fruition.
This has only built anticipation and eagerness for the setting to finally make an appearance in Assassin's Creed, so to forgo the country would be a huge disappointment to many. Ghost of Tsushima was a compelling look at what an Assassin's Creed-like game set in an East Asian location could look like, and it's a telling response that a Sucker Punch developer was glad that Assassin's Creed didn't end up going to Japan. The competition would have been fierce, so this rumor being false was a relief for Sucker Punch, but less so for fans of Ubisoft's beloved property.
The Samurai Fit the Assassin's Creed Bill
The history, diverse peoples, important places, and impressive culture of Japan are something that Assassin's Creed could tap into on a gameplay level. The Samurai and Shogun of medieval Japan were fierce warriors and balanced their time by training for combat and learning other Japanese arts like calligraphy and flower arranging. The multifaceted nature of the samurai isn't always shown in complete depth in media, and Assassin's Creed would do well to shine a light on all the Samurai truly did.
The Samurai were, however, primarily soldiers who lived by a strong code of honor, and their combat ability lends itself beautifully to the video game medium. During the centuries that they existed they were a presence known in a range of time periods in Japan, from the Sengoku Period to the Satsuma Rebellion, all of which could be explored in an eventual Assassin's Creed game. The thought of having a Samurai protagonist for the next in the series is surely an enticing thought, and is one that has festered for too long.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.