Despite its recent struggles to dominate the market, Ubisoft is one of the most well-known AAA game developers in the worldwide video game industry. Consumers could know Ubisoft from a wide variety of games it has developed since its breakthrough with “Rayman” in 1995, such as the “Assassin’s Creed” franchise, “Just Dance,” the “Far Cry” franchise and “Rainbow Six Siege.” As Ubisoft encountered troubles in selling its newest projects, like “Assassin’s Creed: Shadows,” consumers reveled in the memory of old Ubisoft hits. Ubisoft must have been made aware of its fans’ complaints, because it seems that it has decided to capitalize on them: in early March, the AAA game developer announced that it would release a “substantial” remake of “Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag” by the end of this year.
Typically, when game developers talk about revisiting an old game, consumers know to expect a remaster, or a “re-furbishing” of an old game. Projects of remastering enhance the graphics of an old game, and can change the controls to better suit newer gaming systems, but do not usually include noteworthy additions to the game’s plot. It has now been almost 13 years since Ubisoft released “Black Flag” for obsolete consoles; many fans expected that Ubisoft would remaster the game for the newer PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X consoles. But after Ubisoft released a new concept art, fans found themselves more excited than they thought they would be.
The concept art is an illustration of the protagonist of “Black Flag,” Edward Kenway, standing on the mast of a ship, with the hood of his iconic outfit mysteriously obscuring his face. At the bottom right of the concept art, the game’s recognizable logo hovers above the name of the project: “Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag Resynced.” The use of “resynced,” as opposed to “remastered,” has given fans hope that the project will include more substantial additions than simply improved graphics. When fans began to circulate their theories about a remake rather than a remaster, Ubisoft broke its silence, saying that “some whispers have a little more wind in their sails” and telling fans to “Keep your spyglasses on the horizon.” With this thematic reassurance, fans became more confident in their hopes for a remake of “Black Flag.”
Fans have even more to excite their hopes: in 2024, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot told Lucy O’Brien in an interview that “Assassin’s Creed” fans “can be excited about some remakes,” vaguely mentioning several projects without specifically naming “Black Flag” or any other classic game. According to an article written by IGN’s Michael Cripe, fans were already beginning to call for a remake of “Black Flag” in 2024. In a poll attached to the article, 37% of almost 13,000 voters made it known that they wanted a “Black Flag” remake, and that their desire dominated the voice of “Assassin’s Creed” fans.
As often occurs in the video game industry, leaks plagued the “Black Flag Resynced” project before it was announced in early March. IGN’s Tom Phillips claimed in his article about the project that there were “years of internal leaks that pointed to the game’s existence.” Another challenge that producers face in keeping their projects a secret is the excitement of actors and staff. According to the voice of Edward Kenway, Matt Ryan, Ubisoft threatened to sue him for nearly revealing “Black Flag Resynced.”
In entertainment, the process of revealing an anticipated project can be messy, and Ubisoft’s process for revealing “Black Flag Resynced” certainly speaks to this messiness. Thanks to the disorder, however, fans can confidently expect a remake of “Black Flag,” but all can only speculate for now as to what changes and additions to the classic game the new project will include.
Junior Charlie Burns is the Editorials Editor. His email is cburns1@fandm.edu.