Assassin’s Creed Officially Confirms The Start Of A Brand-New Era
The Assassin's Creed series has been bouncing between various directions for a while now, with each successive game bringing something very different to the table. Whether looking at Assassin's Creed Odyssey's massive RPG ambitions, the streamlined, classic approach of Mirage, or the mix of old and new found in the Black Flag remake, it's been hard to determine what prerogative will ultimately guide the overall franchise.
The latest news doesn't provide a hard answer to that question, but it does suggest that the brand might be finding its footing. This time, a key change in leadership will be guiding the direction of Assassin's Creed into the future.
On LinkedIn, Assassin's Creed Head of Content Jean Guesdon announced that Eric Baptizat will be returning to Assassin's Creed as the "new Game Director for the brand." In the context of Assassin's Creed, Baptizat is best known as the game director for Assassin's Creed Valhalla, but he was also involved in Black Flag, Unity, and Origins.
More recently, Baptizat worked as game director on the Dead Space remake and Battlefield 6, both of which released to widespread acclaim. In the post, Guesdon welcomes Eric back to the Ubisoft environment, saying that the Assassin's Creed brand is "so glad to have [him] home."
It's A New Dawn For Assassin's Creed
Baptizat's association with Valhalla will likely be more exciting to some Assassin's Creed fans than others. While some fell in love with its combat and open world, others criticized the game for content bloat. Notably, however, the project was also led by Ashraf Ismail before Ismail stepped down due to allegations of misconduct, so assuming that Valhalla represents Baptizat's primary vision for the series could be a mistake.
Regardless, Baptizat has a strong track record of successful games, so he seems like a steady hand to have at the helm. Baptizat's new position likely won't affect Assassin's Creed: Codename Hexe much, which is vaguely expected to release next year, but it could have a greater influence on games to come.
Hopefully, we'll start to see solid results from the current creative leadership before too long. The Assassin's Creed series has managed to avoid any critical disasters since the bug-ridden launch of Unity, but with constant ups and downs and the generally slow rate of Ubisoft game design evolution, there's a chance that it could benefit from a true refresh.