Assassin’s Creed Shadows is making one heck of an impression in its first few weeks. The game has reached more than three million players, according to Ubisoft, making it the second highest debut in the series. It’s managed to maintain a solid critical score among critics, and is absolutely stunning to boot.
But already waiting in the shadowy wings is the immediate sequel to the newest Assassin’s Creed. Tenetively subtitled Assassin’s Creed Codename Hexe, the game was announced alongside Shadows (then known as Codename Red) during the Ubisoft Forward event way back in 2022 with few details attached. We know that Hexe is set to be a pretty big departure from more recent games in the series, both tonally and in gameplay. But with Shadows rightfully taking the spotlight in the lead up to its release, most players have forgotten about this cryptic tease from almost three years ago.
With Shadows out, there’s no better time to look at what we know about the next game in the series.
So What Is Assassin’s Creed Codename Hexe?
Assassin’s Creed Codename Hexe is the next game in Ubisoft’s 18-year-old stealth action-turned-RPG series. The game was revealed with a brief 30-second trailer with a few tucked away clues about what this entry will be about. For one, the texts scrawled around the edges of the Assassin’s insignia are written in Old German, according to the Assassin’s Creed YouTube Channel Access the Animus. When translated, the first line reads “we work in the dark to serve the light,” a familiar phrase typically recited by Assassin initiates throughout the series. The second line translates to “Mephisto avenge this house.”
The mention of Mephisto is particularly telling. The mention of the demonic figure from German folklore and literature throughout time betrays a religious backdrop for this game. The Assassin’s insignia is also placed in front of a pentagram, further solidifying the theory that this game will deal with demons and potentially satanic forces in some fashion.
The most solid evidence of Codename’s Hexe’s setting comes from Bloomberg’s Jason Schrier. He reported back in 2022 that Ubisoft was working on a game “set during the latter stages of the Holy Roman Empire and revolves around witch trials.” The dark trailer certainly gives us vibes straight out of The VVitch and The Blair Witch Project.
What Team Is Working On Assassin’s Creed Codename Hexe?
Ubisoft Montreal will be returning for Codename Hexe. The team last worked on 2020’s Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, the highest-selling but most divisive game in the series. The team also worked on Assassin’s Creed Origins, the entry that established the RPG formula it’s followed across four games now.
What’s most interesting, however, is that Codename Hexe will reportedly abandon this trend. In a 2022 interview with IGN, series producer Marc-Alexis Côté said that the game will not be an RPG. While he didn’t say what the next game would be instead, it would be hard to imagine it straying too far from the open-world roots the series has always retained.
Leaving the RPG elements behind will be a welcome change for those who didn’t click with the series’ current direction. One of the big successes of Shadows is its willingness to make some concessions for more fans of the older games, including guaranteed assassinations. But the core of its RPG mechanics, like its incremental skill trees, loot progression, and its bloated world size are inescapable.
Combined with the darker, seemingly horror-leaning tone, Codename Hexe could be the most wildly different Assassin’s Creed we’ve seen in a long while.
What Does Ubisoft’s Recent Restructuring Mean For Codename Hexe?
Earlier this week, troubled publisher Ubisoft announced that it would be separating its three biggest franchises, Far Cry, Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six, and Assassin’s Creed, and filing them under a new subsidiary. The unnamed subsidiary will be created with the help of a $1 billion investment from Chinese publisher Tencent. All past and future games in these series’ will be managed by the subsidiary.
An Ubisoft’s press release about the deal says “This new subsidiary will focus on building game ecosystems designed to become truly evergreen and multi-platform,” and “will drive further increases in quality of narrative solo experiences, expand multiplayer offerings with increased frequency of content release, introduce free-to-play touchpoints, and integrate more social features.”
It’s hard to be totally optimistic about what this all will mean in the long term, particularly as the industry continues to lay off record numbers of workers. As far as what it will mean for future Assassin’s Creed projects like Codename Hexe, it remains to be seen.
When Does Codename Hexe Release?
The 2022 Bloomberg report only confirmed that Codename Hexe would come out sometime after 2024. With Shadows just releasing in 2025, it's safe to say Ubisoft won’t be rushing to put out its sequel, especially as it focuses on post-release content.
The series has followed an annual release schedule since 2007. So at this point, I wouldn’t expect a release until 2026 at the earliest. As to when we’ll get our first glimpse at gameplay is anyone’s guess.
