They should really go back to the old formula (modernized version obviously)
This RPG thing is getting tiresome now and I miss the emphasis on parkour and assassinations. Also next setting should be ancient Aztec civilization

China as next setting is heavily implied by Ubisoft and Valhalla

Damn that’s kinda disappointing but it might be cool

Honestly, that’s a day one. How is it disappointing. I don’t think there’s been a single game AAA game that uses the same setting.

same. Im sure they would use the setting in the time of the three kingdoms which would fit the assassin vs templer conflict.

Sadly this would mean, we wouldnt get a dense city system anytime soon if they want to use a big vast landscape like Chinas. Nonetheless open world china would be fye

I remember them making AC art of China some time ago.

old parkour maybe, especially Unity's, but definitely not the combat

should I cop valhalla on ps5 if i hated odyssey? for the most part I disliked the performance on console and the grindy nature but the world was pretty great looking even tho it was huge as s***

yep, theres also no way that they drop these huge open world if they want to do China, Aztec Empire or the Mongol Empire next

Why Assassin’s Creed China and Japan are Coming Soon

reddit.com/r/assassinscreed/comments/i296xd/assassins_creed_china_and_japan_are_coming_soon

The discussion around when Assassin’s Creed will go to China and Japan never stops; and rightfully so as both countries' history is so rich with potential. So for everyone who wants a game in China or Japan, I have good news.A game set in China or Japan is definitely coming in the near future.

The biggest piece of evidence for this is these two concept arts:

If you look at the file names which can be found on John Bigorgne’s art station, you’d find two names:

John-bigorgne-siege-metropolis-04-b.jpg

John-bigorgne-forest-01.jpg

This has the exact same naming convention as concept art for “Assassin’s Creed Ragnarok” which became Valhalla (and the concept arts for which were confirmed to be part of Valhalla). John Bigorgne works for Ubi Montreal and has worked on Lineage and Syndicate as a concept artist. It seems very reasonable that he could have made some art of China as well. So now that we can pretty much confirm that this is actual concept art, not fan art like claimed (likely just NDA reasoning), we have to ask:

Are these images Japan or China?

I firmly believe this is China for a number of reasons.

The art style is reminiscent of ink washing used throughout Medieval China, and while the art style was picked up by Japan, as were most things, to many the ink washing becomes very synonymous with Chinese art, so much so that Assassin’s Creed Chronicles China used it as the art style.

The fortress is a Chinese fort, not a Japanese castle. The Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties built similar looking massive forts. As you can see in these links, Chinese forts would often have a small building and cover over the gate and small buildings on turrets and towers on the outer walls, with the main keeps and structures well within the walls. The walls for the Chinese forts were often straight or a flat angle. Meanwhile, Japanese Castles would sit directly on the walls, using it to elevate the main castle and had a heavier reliance on curvatures in their base and walls than Chinese forts. You can also see some subtle differences in the way the roofs spread out over open areas.

The Armor appears to be Chinese. Looking at the soldiers on the right and the foreground we can see very clear silhouettes and armor. The helmets are mildly conical and some even have a very small brim over the eyes. This is very reminiscent of armor seen in the Yuan Dynasty and Qing Dynasty. The Mongols during the Yuan Dynasty wore similar armor and even some very narrow brimmed hats that we can see from the soldiers on the right. Japanese Samurai wore very ornate armor called gusoku, and while some were a little subdued, it overall had a very recognizable silhouette that no soldier has. Other big soldiers during the Sengoku Jidai began to be the Ashigaru, which are depicted as carrying rifles and having very long brimmed hats.

Weaponry indicates medieval China. Chinese did use firework cannons, which soldiers on the right may be carrying, but all other weapons seen in the image indicate spears and chinese dao which were popular during the Yuan Dynasty. One of the more well known and popular periods of Feudal Japan was the Edo Period which was marked by the Sengoku Jidai where the three Unifiers unified all of Japan in a 50 year period and the Meiji restoration. By this time the Portuguese had brought firearms to Japan, and over 50% of the population owned guns and many owned swords. Two Katanas were traditionally worn by Samurai on their sides, and are generally more curved than Dao. We do not see any soldier other than the assassins wearing two swords (which are straight, small, and in the wrong location).

Far less important, I feel the trees and mountains look more Chinese. Both could just be artistic style, but the smaller pine tree that curves in strange ways and grows near cliffs are very common in China, which pine trees in Japan from what I’ve seen are largely much straighter. The forest image could be either, but again, based on everything else, I think China is the most likely.

Despite China being the likely setting, I do think Japan would come afterward. As I discuss in this post (which also covers why Yuan China would work well), every game in the series so far shares an environmental asset pool with another game. China and Japan have similar architecture and environments, and could easily use assets from the other with small tweaks.

So when is this happening??

I believe the game in China will come out in 2023. I know it’s a little ways off, but hear me out. Concept art is some of the very first things to start in game development, and this art came out in 2018, meaning it was probably in early development in 2018. The engine Anvil Next 2.0 has been in use since Unity, and with new much more powerful consoles, it would make sense to create a new engine for the games. Unity had a 5-year development cycle to completely make a new engine, while Origins which heavily overhauled the engine had 4 years, (the first 2 of which were working on just the engine and combat systems). So for a large scale overhaul of the series, we’d probably be looking at 4-5 years from 2018. So 2023 fits that bill. That also works well for squeezing in one more game that uses the same assets as Valhalla, such as a game in the Black Plague France as I speculated previously.

So who’ll be working on AC China?

I believe Montreal 2 will be working on AC China. They previously made Ac3 which they made a new engine for, and since AC3 worked on Far Cry 4 and Far Cry 5. Far Cry 6, however, is being worked on by Toronto, which means Montreal 2 has been working on a non-Far Cry game since 2018… Right when those concepts came out… Hmmm.Oh, and YouTuber Fizhy during a 4 Pillars Podcast (about 10 minutes in) reported that there were rumors of a game in Rome, and two sources mentioned there was a game from Ashraf working on Vikings or China. Also, Watch Dogs 3 was coming in 2019. Watch Dogs 3/ Legion was announced for 2019 (but then delayed), Ashraf’s team was working on a Viking game too. So what about Rome and China? Well, other Rumors from other YouTubers said Rome was canceled for feeling too similar to Odyssey. And as for the China game that artwork was seen for, it’s possible that was Montreal Team 2 working on China, while Team 3 was working on Vikings. It was mentioned that the team making the big next-gen game was making a new engine, (Valhalla just has some small rendering upgrades). So we have 3 out of the 5 parts of the rumor completely correct, and then 1 with other sources verifying and saying Rome was canceled. It seems likely to me that Fizhy’s source just got a minor detail wrong, but was probably on the money about China and Vikings.

China and Japan are happening soon, we just need to wait a few more years.

I kinda liked the fluidity of combat especially compared to the clunkfest we have now. Of course, they could make it so you actually have to think a bit. Something like what ghost of Tsushima did. Smooth but not brain dead

Performance is amazing on ps5.

Same Grindy s*** tho. Worlds even niceer

this game/world is beautiful so far I just wish the combat was better

It gets a bit cooler when you unlock some of the special assignable moves.

You can throw a scorpion MK style spear on a rope through someone and drag them into other enemies

gotta find that

I’m sure U know but Follow the yellow markers on ur map and they’ll lead you to armour, material to upgrade stuff or to special moves

The soundtrack

How was this game not nominated for Soundtrack of the year at the TGA

God really gave us 2 Assassins Creeds this year
Need me more games with historical settings

Yule brawl some bs... not only do opponents get stronger but you get f***ing drunk as well

They’ve been teasing that s*** for like a decade now though lol

yeah but real concept art showed up late 2018. So i guess AC China 2022 probably is happening.

I want japan b tbqhwyf, china's already done BUT market there is big so youre probably right.

AC always reuses assets for their game many times. Like Valhalla and Odyssey had the same assets from Origins, while Roque and Black Flag used assets from AC3.
If China is the next setting you can bet that AC 2023/2024 will be set in a similiar setting. Japan or Korea would be my bet