Ubisoft has announced that Assassin’s Creed Valhalla will be the next entry in its beloved action-adventure series. The publisher unveiled the game’s new Scandinavian setting during a livestream with Aussie artist Kode AbdoOpens in a new tab, a.k.a. BossLogic, on Wednesday.
The broadcast began at 8:00am ET, with Baslajik leisurely painting in Adobe Photoshop, instrumental music playing in the background. By about 3pm, he’d rendered a diptych illustrating two different scenes. On the left, Viking ships sail for new shores; on the right, warriors clash in a field while a hilltop fortress burns. And in the middle, a bearded, armor-clad Norseman cradles a broad axe.
Assassin’s Creed: Teaser | Ubisoft is live with BossLogic | Tune in for the next Assassin’s Creed setting reveal from 8AM ET / 5AM PTLIVE with BossLogic #AssassinsCreedOpens in a new tab #UbisoftOpens in a new tab https://t.co/9mldQntLmdOpens in a new tab
— Assassin's Creed (@assassinscreed) April 29, 2020Opens in a new tab
“Super excited to reveal what I have been working on for the past few months with Ubisoft,” the artist tweetedOpens in a new tab early on Wednesday morning. Upwards of 72,000 viewers were watching when the game’s official title finally dropped at 4pm.
Ashraf Ismail—creative director on “an unannounced title,” according to his Twitter bio—was also quick to draw attention to the reveal. “What’s going on here?” he wondered aloudOpens in a new tab, along with a link to the stream on Twitch. A longtime employee of Ubisoft Montréal, Ismail served as game director on 2017’s Assassin’s Creed Origins as well as 2013’s Black Flag.
On April 30, the publisher premiered the trailer for Valhalla.Opens in a new tab Check it out:
In April of last year, Kotaku pointed outOpens in a new tab a clever tease inside Ubisoft’s The Division 2Opens in a new tab. Posters hung around the game’s Potomac Event Center promise “a graceful, powerful work of opera” called Valhalla. The outlet also reported hearing, from two separate sources, that the sequel “does indeed star Vikings.”
The last installment in the franchise, 2018’s Assassin’s Creed OdysseyOpens in a new tab, took place in ancient Greece and let players choose between a male and female protagonist. It also dialed in elements typical of role-playing games like The Division and Fallout 4, further emphasizing player choice.
Featured Image: Ubisoft/BossLogic
