Assassin's Creed will launch 17th November

Ubisoft has announced the release date for Assassin's Creed Valhalla along with numerous other details about the game, as part of its Ubisoft Forward digital conference. 

The Viking-themed game will launch 17th November for the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC, with Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 releases planned when the consoles are launched. The PC version will be available through the Epic Games Store, Ubisoft Store, Ubisoft's subscription service, Uplay+, as well as Google Stadia. 

As part of the announcement, we saw more of Assassin's Creed Valhalla demonstrating that it's a lot more like recent Assassin's Creed installments than how the series began. There will be dual-wielding of weapons and shields, raiding, organised assaults, and open-world activities. The whole thing looks far more bloodthirsty than ever before, so it's nice to see that the Hidden Blade will make a return for sneaky assassinations. We're not convinced that overall this is going to be anywhere near as much of a stealth game as the early Assassin's Creed titles though. 

The gameplay trailer demonstrated a very similar experience to what we've seen in Assassin's Creed Origins and Assassin's Creed Odyssey with a general 'more is more' kind of attitude that does admittedly suit the nature of the Viking theme pretty well. There's also news of a new cinematic mode for horseback riding and searing which should look beautiful, providing your PC is up to scratch. Think how Red Dead Redemption 2 does things and it's not far off that. 

Ubisoft explained that political alliances, combat decisions and dialogue choices will all influence how the game plays out, with players also able to switch between a male or female Eivor (the main character) at any time. You'll also be able to upgrade your settlement with plenty of opportunities for fishing, harpooning, and other more survival-based elements than before. 

Alongside the news of Assassin's Creed Valhalla, there was also confirmation that Far Cry 6 is indeed launching next year on 18th February 2021 as leaked late last week. 

If you're a fan of open-world games, you may have a lot to juggle near the end of this year. Watch Dogs Legion is set to launch on 29th October, a mere couple of weeks before Assassin's Creed Valhalla, with Cyberpunk 2077 releasing two days after the Viking epic. Prepare your schedules accordingly.