While Assassin's Creed Valhalla is not available yet, players are already speculating about the future of the franchise. Although feudal Japan is a highly demanded setting, some have suggested a return to China instead, to avoid overlap with Ghost of Tsushima's success. However, eagle-eyed fans on Reddit believe that Assassin's Creed may re-visit China sooner than expected.
Referencing a piece of 2017 concept art posted to Ubisoft Montreal artist John Bigorgne's ArtStation account, Reddit user Nstav13 theorizes that a future Assassin's Creed game could be set in China during the Mongol Invasions. While the Reddit user considers this art the "nail in the coffin," he listed other compelling reasons why Ubisoft might choose to return to China.
According to the Reddit post, Nstav13 believes that Ubisoft will release a mainline Assassin's Creed game set in China in 2022. After outlining how Ubisoft recycles many of its assets across Assassin's Creed games and how it might reuse Valhalla's assets, the Reddit user stated that Ubisoft could choose China and Mongolia as settings when going back to the drawing board in 2021.
Nstav13 believes that the Mongols would allow Assassin's Creed to build on its existing lore and recent settings. Specifically, the writer cited how the Mongol invasions could tie into Valhalla, since the Mongols destroyed a Viking federation. He also cited the Mongol connection to series mainstay Altair, who worked to assassinate Genghis Khan in a previous game. After also noting how Ubisoft listed Genghis Khan and the Mongol invasions as potential subjects for a future game in a survey, the Reddit user pointed to Bigorgne's concept art, which has a file name formatted in a similar manner to previous Assassin's Creed games. Considering Bigorgne's history working with major Ubisoft franchises (including the Assassin's Creed series), Nstav13 theorized that this theoretical game could still be in development, considering Assassin's Creed Unity's five year development cycle.
It is important to note that outside of the 2017 concept art, these claims are unsubstantiated, and Ubisoft has yet to comment on them. However, the Reddit user did claim that fans had used concept art to predict Valhalla before.
Overall, the Reddit responses largely found this theory plausible with some caveats. For example, some questioned whether the concept art depicted China or Japan. One comment pointed out that Ubisoft Montreal recently shelved a new IP after three years of development, and that this could make the team available for a new Assassin's Creed title. Ultimately, only time will tell whether these predictions are true.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla releases November 17, 2020 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.