Assassin's Creed Codename Red - everything we know so far
Assassin’s Creed Red (or Codename Red) was first announced at Ubisoft Forward in 2022, and while we still don’t have much information regarding its release, story, or how it'll play, that hasn’t stopped it from becoming one of the most anticipated upcoming games. Taking place in one of the most-demanded settings by fans, if you’re a fan of the Assassin’s Creed franchise, this is a game worth keeping an eye on.
There’s still a lot to learn about how Codename Red plans to become one of the best Assassin's Creed games, and with no in-game content or release date to show for it, there's not a huge amount to go off. But, even with just a single thirty-second reveal trailer, there’s still plenty of information to unpack about what could be in-store.
In terms of when it will be out in the wild, we only have a small amount of information to go on from a Ubisoft earnings presentation in February 2024. Here, CEO Yves Guillemot revealed that Red would be part of a "promising lineup for fiscal year 2025". This year is between April 1, 2024, and March 31, 2025. Given this is still incredibly vague, we'll be keeping our ears close to the ground and updating this page with anything more concrete and fulsome as we get it. Here’s everything we know so far.
Assassin's Creed Codename Red - cut to the chase
What is it? The next open-world RPG Assassin’s Creed game
When does it come out? TBA, but Ubisoft is target a release between April 2024 and March 2025 (inclusive) according to an earnings report
What can I play it on? TBA
Who’s making it? Ubisoft (specifically Ubisoft Quebec)
Assassin's Creed Codename Red trailers
We’ve received a single trailer for Assassin’s Creed Codename Red so far, and it doesn't give us much information about the in-game content to expect, aside from revealing the long-awaited setting of Japan.
We also see what we assume to be the central playable character atop a building before they unsheathe their hidden blade and a large cloud of black smoke comes in to end the trailer. We receive the name “Assassin’s Creed Codename Red” but no information regarding a release date or any potential platforms. The full reveal trailer can be seen below:
The community has done its best to breakdown the trailer and pick out bits of information that could reveal more on the setting or protagonist. However given how short it was and how 'empty' it was there's not been too much and we would still take it all with a pinch of salt.
Some notable interrogations include the buildings in the background having stone bases indicating that it could take place in the 16th century Sengoku period when that building technique was at its height, and the protagonist having items such as a grappling hook, and kunai blades attached to their person too.
Assassin's Creed Codename Red story and setting
Despite the reveal trailer being incredibly short, Assassin’s Creed Codename Red will take place in Ancient Japan. We haven’t received much information about what to expect from the location, but as we crawl closer to a more reasonable release window, we are bound to find out a little more about what to expect from the location of our newest adventure into Assassin’s Creed.
Venturing into Japan will be a franchise first and given the detailed environments and locations we’ve already experienced, there’s a lot to expect from feudal Japan. Ubisoft has announced that Assassin’s Creed Codename Red will be the “future of our open-world RPG games.” So we expect a lot of exploration and an incredibly interactive environment to set the scene for the next installment.
The story is yet to unfold, but with Japan being one of the most anticipated environments, there’s a strong chance that Codename Red could become one of the best Assassin’s Creed games yet, depending on how the game plays out. Marc-Alexis Cote also stated that Codename Red is “pushing to have a more dynamic world, a world that evolves around you and we want everything that you have on yourself to evolve as you walk through this environment.” (Thanks, VGC.)
Assassin's Creed Codename Red gameplay
Any Assassin’s Creed Codename Red in-game action is yet to be showcased, so a lot of what we currently know about the content of the game is based upon quite vague announcements and the short reveal trailer we have received.
But we aren’t completely in the dark. Between announcements and statements from the team, alongside announcements from Ubisoft, we are starting to pull together pieces of information about the content of the game so we know vaguely what to expect and how it plans to step up from previous games.
Codename Red will open the doors to a “powerful shinobi fantasy” for players. Even though we haven’t seen any in-game content, we can expect from this statement alone that there will be a huge emphasis on stealth missions and infiltration, even more so than in previous Assassin’s Creed games.
Going off the short, 30-second reveal trailer, we can see that the assumed playable character continues the tradition of having a hidden blade, which gives a very slight hint into what we can expect from combat. In addition to this, the Shinobi also has a sort of short sword, which we believe to be the signature weapon of the character.
However, a number of rumors surrounding the game suggest that a shinobi won’t be the only playable character within the title, and instead, you’ll be able to also play as a Samurai, according to Insider Gaming. How exactly you’ll be able to switch between these or whether they will have blocked out sections of the storyline is currently unknown.
As we creep closer to a possible Assassin's Creed Codename Red release date, we expect more information regarding the content of the game, alongside some spotlights on the new assassin and potentially a highlight on any combat, to be released, but for now, we are left to speculate.
Assassin's Creed Codename Red development
While it's got plenty of Assassin's Creed brethren for coming with Ubisoft making multiple games in the series, Codename Red does have a beefy studio making it. Ubisoft Quebec is making the game and has a rich history in the series.
The studio was behind the Assassin's Creed III and then Black Flag expansions and earned the right to fully develop a mainline entry in the series in Assassin's Creed Syndicate, and then Assassin's Creed Odyssey. Given Red is being positioned as the next big open-world RPG game in the series, this pedigree can only inspire confidence.
Assassin's Creed Codename Red news
Ubisoft CEO states that Assassin's Creed Red is set to launch before the end of March 2025
In an earnings report detailed by Ubisoft CEO, Yves Guillemot, it has been confirmed that Assassin's Creed Red is on course for a release in the company's financial year 2025. This runs from April 1, 2024, to March 31, 2025. Guillemot said: "...we're gearing up for a very promising line-up for fiscal year 2025, including the upcoming release of Star Wars Outlaws in 2024 [...] as well as Assassin's Creed Codename Red, set in the long-awaited feudal Japan universe. We look forward to revealing the full extent of the creative capabilities of Ubisoft's teams." There were no firm details provided about when more would be revealed.
Ubisoft writer seemingly reveals Assassin's Creed Red protagonist in artwork
As reported by Eurogamer, Pierre Boudreau, posted an image for his professional header image that includes the face of an unknown protagonist on a red background with a Japanese temple in the background - leading many fans to speculate that this might be the lead character for Assassin's Creed Red.
Assassin's Creed Codename Red has been described as the "biggest blockbuster of 2024"
Following its initial announcement at Ubisoft Forward 2022, the business development and brand partnership teams at Ubisoft posted on LinkedIn looking for sponsors for Red and referring to it as the "biggest blockbuster of 2024." Although a release date hasn't been confirmed yet, this heavily hints that it might be rolling around sooner than we realize. The full post which was translated from Japanese was then shared to Twitter by user @AccessTheAnimus.
Assassin’s Creed Codename Red trailer shown at Ubisoft Forward, 2022
The first look at Assassin’s Creed Codename Red was shown as part of Ubisoft Forward in 2022, but the thirty-second reveal didn’t offer a huge amount of information. Despite confirming the location of the game, and offering a look at who we have assumed to be the assassin, we didn’t receive any sort of release window or platform information.
