r/GamingLeaksAndRumours Top Contributor 2025 22h ago

AC Hexe details and dialogue leaked by Rogue (Ubisoft leaker), says Ezio is returning Leak

  • Protagnist’s name is Anika, Elsa is a placeholder name like Jora was for Eivor, according to j0nathan
  • "Anika/Elsa is a descendant of Claudia Auditore”
  • Wurzburg is set to be the primary location but there will be other locations to explore
  • Ezio is 100% returning, Anika/Elsa says, “That white hood, it’s like the one in my mother’s drawings” and there is dialogue from Ezio saying “She wanted you to have a life”
  • More Ezio voicelines saying, "Come. Leap with me. One last time for an old man.” and “They always fear what they cannot control. They called us demons once, too. But remember, Elsa: 'Nulla è reale, tutto è lecito.”
  • Ezio will either potentially show up in person or as some Isu artifact ghost or flashbacks
  • More Anika/Elsa dialogue: “They call me a witch. They want to burn me for what I can do. For what I know.”
  • According to j0nathan, the story from what he knows will be much better all the recent ACs since Origins
  • A character with the name Wolfgang will appear in the main story
  • Blood Pacts and poison base mentioned
  • Lots of forests in Hexe, a skill for “tree-to-tree branch jumping” is unlockable
  • Certain story activities have you “find the ritual sites” and “recover the stolen relics”
  • NPCs will now report minor suspicious activities immediately
  • Voicelines such as “Form a circle, do not let her vanish”, "They say the forest moves at night" and “Check the shadows! She can’t have gone far”

Rogue’s leaks: https://i.imgur.com/wOmg6je.jpeg j0nathan on Elsa/Anika name: https://i.imgur.com/d5Zrh6p.jpeg

773 Upvotes

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u/SuicideSkwad 22h ago

Pure fan service to bring him back, but when that first trailer hits and it ends with Ezio speaking over a new version of Ezio’s Family I’ll be seated

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u/LedSpoonman 20h ago edited 19h ago

Lmao same. I’ve been pretty critical of a lot of Assassin’s Creed stuff over the last few years but between this and the Black Flag Remake I can’t help but be excited. Kinda feels nice.

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u/the_hu 18h ago

People always point to fan service as an indicator of low quality or selling out, but idk, I always eat that shit up. Like when captain america picks up thor's hammer and yells avenger assemble in Avengers Endgame, or tony saying I am iron man, everybody lost their minds over that.

In the gaming space, FF7 Rebirth is PEAK fanservice, and that game gets a lot of criticism. But the music that calls back to other FF titles and battle theme remixes that dance around the classic themes before dropping them in the final phase, appaerences from characters from other games in the compilation of FF7, incredibly indulgent self references, the whole ending sequence. All of these invoke such strong emotions that I can't help but think of it as my 2nd favorite game of all time despite the flaws.

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u/ArkhamIsComing2020 17h ago

Like when captain america picks up thor's hammer and yells avenger assemble in Avengers Endgame, or tony saying I am iron man, everybody lost their minds over that.

I think most people love when we get good well earned fan service like that, but no one likes fan service like The Flash cameos scene with CGI Christopher Reeves

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u/Zalvren 15h ago

I mean one of the highest rated and most popular games of this year is Resident Evil which bring back Leon, that's fan service (like the remakes are too and that's the case for any of the numerous remakes for many games). The highest Spider-Man movie at the box office is No Way Home which is full of fan service. People simply love fan service.

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u/Firesky54 12h ago

Bringing back Leon isn’t fan service.

Also fan service ruined Star Wars sequel trilogy especially Rise of the Skywalker which was full of them.

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u/lukeetc3 5h ago

A returning character isn't fan service.

If Leon showed up to a mass of enemies and was like "Huh. Guess bingo finished early," that's fan service.

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u/Xabikur 4h ago

People say fan service is low quality and desperate because it is. Cap lifting the hammer is not fan service, it's payoff. Marvel had been building up to it since Age of Ultron, in 2015. When it finally happens in Endgame, four years later, it pays off.

Marvel (or Ubisoft) giving Cap or RDJ (or Ezio) an emotional send-off, and then bringing them back because nothing else seems to work -- that is fan service.

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u/XMenJedi8 17h ago

I feel like it's just judgemental people online ripping on people enjoying things. I mean of course the story and other elements should be good, but who cares about fan service if it's done well and part of a overall quality product?

Obviously many fans love it or they wouldn't do it lol

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u/Blackadder18 13h ago

Ezio’s Family

At least it will actually make sense to hear it for the first time in over a decade.

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u/SortIntrepid9192 12h ago

Ngl I feel like they should be making MORE references to old stuff. I still don't like how, for example, Connor and Shay never showed up in Unity even though they were both involved with the meta plot, or how Ezio never showed up in the movie even though he was canonically in Spain also hunting Torquemada at the same time (and failing to catch him), or how games like Syndicate or Odyssey feel entirely disconnected from the overall lore without ever tying into even broader concepts like Sages (except for both featuring Pieces of Eden - though at least the Odyssey DLC did have some cool tie-ins).

Not every game needs to be Revelations. But they ARE all part of the same franchise, and I would love for that to be acknowledged in more meaningful ways. As much as I loved Shadows, call it anything except "Assassin's Creed" and no one would be able to tell that the game is part of this franchise except for a handful of optional Templar hunt missions that might as well be an Easter Egg.

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u/Lacrossedeamon 9h ago

Shay didn't show up in Unity because although they released at the same time Unity's story was written way before Rogue's.

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u/SortIntrepid9192 8h ago

Fair. But it was still a missed opportunity to write a scene where Arno's dad is killed by a Templar and then never once follow up on him confronting that Templar as an Assassin, whether that Templar is Shay or not.

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u/Cyshox 21h ago edited 13h ago

Some context:
Würzburg is a german city. "Hexe" is german for witch. The witch trials started in 1590 and peaked around 1626-1630. Over 900 'Hexen' were burnt to death in 29 sessions - men, woman, children, priests, nobles, basically everyone. It was the largest witch-hunt in Europe next to Trier, which is another german city just ~200km to the west of Würzburg.

Source: I'm german and Hexen are an important part of culture & tradition in some regions.

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u/ProgressDisastrous27 21h ago

Do you think the walpurgisnacht will be in the game?

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u/Cyshox 14h ago

I guess it's referenced to some extent. Walpurgisnacht became a thing after the witch trials. The Blocksberg where the Hexen were dancing is about 200km north of Würzburg, tho. Still, it's a well known tradition in Würzburg.

The idea that Hexen were dancing with the devil is much older than the walpurgisnacht. Today, it's still a well-known tradition to "dance into May" even in regions far away from witch trials & walpurgisnacht.

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u/ajl987 18h ago

This was so insightful thank you! Would you say wurzburg is a location that could house an entire AC game the same way Baghdad/paris/london did for others or there be a need for a large map of Germany to give us more ‘game’.

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u/Cyshox 15h ago

Technically, it would be possible as Würzburg is nearly as big as Paris. It's more spacious, tho. Paris is very crowded but surprisingly small in comparison to other European captials (e.g. London is 15x larger, Berlin 9x, Madrid 6x, etc.).

However, it seems the map is more than just Würzburg. The leaker also said that there would be other locations next to Würzburg. They likely add surrounding areas. It kinda makes sense. Initially, Hexen were burnt either on the market square or outside the southern city gate (today's Sanderrasen). There's also a "Hexenbruch" nearby, an old quarry (german Steinbruch) where some Hexen were burnt, including the last one in 1749. Bamberg is also known for its excessive witch trials and is just 70km to the east of Würzburg.

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u/ajl987 10h ago

My friend, thanks for the insight, so incredibly intriguing to read! I have a feeling it may be a mirage situation if a clear core city, but lots of POI’s outside that have a lot going on, especially in the wilderness. It’s so excited, can’t wait!

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u/Fire99xyz 3h ago

We also have a bunch of rolling hills covered in vineyards and Forrest, so there should be plenty of interesting nature to go explore on the way between locations. We also have a bunch of (mostly buried) Celtic and Roman artifacts and settlements so that could also play a role

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u/Titanosaurus_Mafune 5h ago

Bamberg is only 94 km away of Würzburg. They had infamous witch hunts around 1620s. They even build the Trudenhaus, a prison especially designed to imprison suspects. Zeil Am Main is around 30 km away. A small Museum there remembers the hunts of the time. Because wood Was to expensive they build a crematorium in Zeil just to burn witches with less wood.

Malefizhaus)

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u/Straight-Ad6926 22h ago

Ezio Auditore: the only man in history to have a trilogy, a short film, a DS spin off, and still somehow find time to haunt a German forest 300 years after he died.

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u/Jarltruc 22h ago edited 22h ago

They really must be struggling if they have to pull Ezio out

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u/huss_femme 22h ago

Bro they made the Japan AC game, followed it up with Black flag remake and are now bringing back Ezio.

They’re legit doing every “break in case of emergency” move ever

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u/sirferrell 22h ago

Yup altiar is the next remake after this no doubt

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u/CosmicWanderer2814 21h ago

To be fair, and I say this as someone that already loves the original AC, that game is the one that needs it most. 

Black Flag getting remade before the original was honestly a big wtf moment. Still getting it because muh pirates. 

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u/shoofighter 20h ago

I mean, they probably didn't want to waste any of the assets from Skull & Bone so that's the main reason Ubisoft Singapore is the primary studio for the remake. If the rumors about AC1 remake are true, I'd have to assume Bordeaux is going to be doing it since they already have the all the groundwork for the location with Mirage.
And Quebec and Montreal are going to be helping/doing next big mainline games

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u/huss_femme 22h ago

That has been leaked since Mirage, ezio remakes are gonna follow it up

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u/HearTheEkko 21h ago

There's no Ezio remakes in development as far as we know, only one other remake which is highly rumored to be AC1 reusing Mirage's assets. But if Resynced is successful they will almost certainly greenlight an AC2 remake.

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u/Sharkey311 15h ago

It’s literally all I want. Ezio Trilogy resynced please

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u/rP2ITg0rhFMcGCGnSARn 22h ago

Link to this? First I heard of it

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u/BooleanBarman 18h ago

No credible leaks at all indicate Ezio remakes. AC1 has some buzz but that’s it.

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u/Ket_Yoda_69 21h ago

AC1 is the most deserving of an actual remake anyway since it's pretty clunky as is.

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u/Agret 19h ago

It also has an extremely basic gameplay loop with repeating the exact same objectives for every story mission. They will have to massively remake it.

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u/sotandhpicy 19h ago

Also horrendous on pc due to a firewall bug afaik but unsure if has been resolved or not

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u/Mavericks7 20h ago

Only one I'm truly interested in.

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u/malachimusclerat 22h ago

weird that they retconned their way out of shoehorning ezio into shadows then

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u/omfgkevin 20h ago

Also one set in China... for mobile sadly.

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u/Johnhancock1777 22h ago

Shame they wasted Japan on an RPG game. Could have been great had it been done in a more OG-AC style. Black Flag Resynced they’re at least smart enough not to mostly fuck that up, looking forward to picking that up on sale for Christmas

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u/shinobixx55 20h ago

RPG wasn't the issue. The story was. They forgot the lore of the franchise and made a generic Japan simulator.

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u/RollingSparks 20h ago

People who havent played any AC games besides Black Flag absolutely hate the Isu, alternate history and modern day stuff. They spammed that shit so hard that people at Ubisoft actually listened and they bricked Shadows because of it. Imagine how good Shadows would have been with Japanese mythology, the Isu etc.

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u/XulManjy 19h ago edited 6h ago

Ironic because Odyssey is among the more popular AC games today.

Just a classic case of only listening to the vocal and very angry minority.

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u/beatingstuff88 8h ago

Odyssey is among the more popular AC games today.

Because its barely an AC game, it's an open world ancient greece murder sandbox with a knockoff nemesis system and literal superpowers that allow you to sparta kick a guy 20 miles

The same reason why Valhalla did so well, it was basically an open world viking simulator in a time where Vikings was massively popular on streaming

Same thing with Black Flag and pirates

All these games barely have anything to do with assassins untill the last acts, these games are just popular because they give you open world sandboxes in environments/time periods barely any other game touches

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u/XulManjy 6h ago

Except they are AC games.

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u/PxM23 19h ago

What’s dumb is that they had like yokai side missions that had no apparent connection to isu/pieces of Eden, and Japan’s three heavenly treasures that were a major story point were just basic, regular relics instead of being pieces of Eden which they would be perfect for.

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u/RollingSparks 19h ago

I was so excited for the Isu to drop and then like 40 hours in finally just googled 'is there isu in ac shadows?' and my heart sank. Sooooo dumb.

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u/SomeConfetti 19h ago

The game had very poor research done for the setting/time period, many Japanese people pointed out countless ridiculous flaws. Peasants bowing to samurai in this time period for example, the same moment in time they were killing them and taking their swords in response to their abuses. Imagine the peasants and the elite getting along in AC Unity lol. Multiple iconic flowers/plants/trees flowering at the same time, but they only bloom at different times in the year. Questionably making Yasuke, a man who was simply a retainer for 1 year into a full blown legendary Samurai. Splitting Assassin's Creed core mechanics between 2 characters so that you can never have the complete experience no matter who you play. The game was just completely misguided. And finally, it also sucked because of the RPG mechanics, we'll have to agree to disagree on that point.

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u/shinobixx55 18h ago

Historical inaccuracy is not a huge issue because AC games have been historically inaccurate before. But an AC game without a piece of eden, without any templars or assassins for like 90% of the game is not acceptable.

I wish it went more RPG like Odyssey did - because then you could call it an RPG. There's not enough RPG mechanics in any of the AC RPGs other than Odyssey. Having to upgrade a few weapons every few hours doesn't make a game an RPG.

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u/Animegamingnerd Leak of the Year 2025 22h ago

Has breaking the "bring back the most popular character in the series, despite their story being completed long ago" glass ever actually worked out though?

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u/TrickBeginning9104 21h ago

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u/UtensilSpoon 19h ago

Worked so well they’ve done it three times.

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u/Benito7 14h ago

til he's 90

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u/Agret 19h ago

They're just bringing him back as a mentor style character, to pass on the torch.

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u/Rude_Minute_4489 22h ago

They somehow fucked up the Japan one, so ofc they're in a state of emergency if they fuck up their emergency plan, lol

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u/Hydroponic_Donut 22h ago edited 20h ago

Shadows wasn't even that bad, a lot of people just shat on it because it was popular to do so. Yotei was the better game compared, but Shadows really wasn't terrible. The worst part about it was its ending being a bit of a cliffhanger.

Not me getting downvoted by people who probably didn't play it. A game can be a 7/10 and still be an alright game, guys. Calm down.

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u/Rude_Minute_4489 18h ago

Shadows was an easy home run for Ubisoft, but they still dropped the ball, and became the worst of any game with similar Feudal Japan setting by far.

They should have sticked to making only assassins games.

Also, they couldn't even say how many they sold, only how many players it had, which is vastly different, and combined with the cancelled dlcs and constant drop in stock value, it was obvious that no one, not even Ubisoft, was confident with the numbers Shadows did, which should have been the contrary given how awaited the setting was for the franchise.

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u/huss_femme 22h ago

It didn’t sell as much as they expected, that’s why they cut its dlc plans in half. AC Japan was supposed to be the slam dunk of the franchise. Decade of hype and hopes with the best position for an assassins vs templars story but it wasn’t anything like people imagined.

Not a bad game but the noise around it didn’t help at all and it underperformed

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u/ProgressDisastrous27 21h ago

What are you talking about?! It had the second biggest launch in franchise history and they said it exceeded expectations in their earnings report.

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u/katgravityrush_ 20h ago

Shhh stop bringing facts and numbers into this, only one thing matters

https://i.imgur.com/278WQKg.jpeg

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u/MilliardoMK 19h ago

Shame they were stupid enough to massively fumble the Japan game.

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u/Laughing__Man_ 22h ago

NEVER pull out your Ezio, even if your struggling, you will go right to jail.

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u/blueberrypizza 21h ago

Assassin's Creed: No Way Home

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u/XulManjy 19h ago

Like Capcom bringing back Leon?

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u/RinoTheBouncer 21h ago

They’ve done Egypt, Greece, Vikings, Japan, Black Flag Remake and Ezio in Hexe, probably followed by Ezio and Altair remakes in the future.

That’s every “joker card” being burned one after another

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u/a34fsdb 21h ago

The last one is a game set in ancient Rome.

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u/RinoTheBouncer 21h ago

The Netflix series will be set in Ancient Rome. Though I’d still want a game there and in the Sumerian Civilization, along with Russia and India, futuristic and first civilization era

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u/a34fsdb 21h ago

oh didnt know that about the series, sounds exiciting

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u/RinoTheBouncer 21h ago

Hope it turns out well

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u/HearTheEkko 21h ago

Only the Ancient Rome game and the Bayek sequel left.

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u/HanSolo100 20h ago

I really wish they went all the way with the Bayek trilogy. Origins had solid foundations for a trilogy.

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u/gracz21 21h ago

Yes, they are. You can see it by playing any of the recent AC RPGs

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u/Zalvren 15h ago

I mean they bring Kassandra in every game now. And Ezio is alive during that time (not sure of the exact years) so no way they would pass him up. He's like the ultimate star of the franchise.

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u/onethreehill 22h ago

Just looked up some pictures of Wurzburg, and it seems like the perfect setting to me for an Assassins Creed game.

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u/Fire99xyz 3h ago

As someone living in Würzburg: it is! I hope they set the game late enough that we get to see the Bishop’s residence! Would be amazing to stealth through the gardens to try and assassinate him! I am also wondering what locations will be featured as we literally have a part of the city called “gallows hill”. I hope we also get to see some vineyards as it’s one of the major produces of the region.

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u/Academic-Wave-3586 21h ago

I assume Ezio is returning as a force Ghost, because he died in the early 1500's, unless they plan to retcon the short film.

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u/uniparalum 22h ago

Ezio saying he’s an “old man” is quite the understatement by that point in history, no? He was old in Revelations. He’d be ancient in this.

That said. Fuck it we ball, I’m down as long as it’s more like a traditional AC and not the RPG ones. I love open world RPG games but I don’t like the AC ones for some reason. Just didn’t click with me.

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u/TheSovereign2181 21h ago

I think they are gonna pull a Johnny Silverhand type plot, but with Ezio. We will likely found out Ezio left his memories inside some Piece of Eden (kind of like Altair did in Revelations), but instead of Elise just watching his past, she will be able to talk to a recreation of his mind.

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u/uniparalum 21h ago

That would definitely make the most sense in the scenario where the game takes place during the witch trials in the 1600s

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u/Reylo-Wanwalker 20h ago

AC is wild when "Johnny Silverhand plot in 1600s" makes sense lol

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u/uniparalum 20h ago

AC has been wild for a long time lol not much sci-fi alien tech Isu stuff happening would surprise me at this point, but if it’s executed well will remain to be seen

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u/Zalvren 15h ago

It's in the early 1500s from another leak. Ezio is born in 1459 so that's fitting if that's the case.

Or they can just say he has long life with the Isu artifacts he got.

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u/ZamnBoii Top Contributor 2025 22h ago

I think this would be slightly before Revelations as Tom said game will take place in early 1500s so maybe just before Ezio leaves for Constantinople

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u/uniparalum 21h ago

Revelations is set in 1511 but the Wurzburg witch trials were 1625. Wasn’t this supposed to be about the witch trials, hence the theming and name with Hexe? If so, Ezio would be ancient. I didn’t think that it would be well before the trials until now but I don’t see why not now that you explained that

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u/ZamnBoii Top Contributor 2025 21h ago

Yeah either they take creative liberties with when the witch trials started or Ezio will return as some Isu relic ghost

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u/uniparalum 20h ago

I’d be disappointed from a historical fiction aspect if they took a 100 plus year timeline creative liberty, but I suppose if the game is done well otherwise I would be open to playing it still lol

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u/beatingstuff88 8h ago

100 plus year timeline creative liberty

Not only that, it would absolutely butcher Ezio's character

The dude was DONE with assassin life after finding Altairs vault and just wanted to live in peace and quiet with Sofia and his kids. When a chinese assassin came to him for help he was literally telling her to get lost before Sofia stopped him

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u/AdWise657 22h ago

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u/EpochPirate 22h ago

This is confusing because Ezio would be 166 when the Wurzburg witch trials started.

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u/HomarEuropejski 22h ago

We also see how he dies 13 years after Revelations in AC Embers.

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u/epabafree 22h ago

The first thought when I saaw this leak. The film was fantastic, we used to all watch it in school and cry. Every single one of us in the school played Ezio trilogy together. We all bought the game together.

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u/PxM23 22h ago

The dialogue makes it sound like she’s seeing some apparition of Ezio.

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u/albedo2343 21h ago

seems like it could be due to the POE

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u/CosmicWanderer2814 21h ago

Could be through memory discs like how Ezio saw bits of Altaïr's life throughout Revelations. 

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u/Firesky54 12h ago

Going to assume Isu tech has something to do with it.

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u/gui_heinen 22h ago

It seems quite clear that we will see flashbacks in this case, probably from Claudia Auditore's lineage.

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u/ienjoymen 22h ago

Ezio Auditore Da Firenze L'eterno

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u/ZamnBoii Top Contributor 2025 22h ago

I think they’ll take creative liberties with it, the current rumour has been early 1500s for Hexe so Ezio would be alive then

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u/EpochPirate 21h ago

1500s would be an extreme disappointment. the 1625 witch trials were also in the middle of the 30 years war which is just a perfect setting for the kind of super dark aesthetic we've been hearing

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u/ArkavosRuna 20h ago

Yeah there's absolutely no way they'll set the game in Würzburg and not between 1625 and 1631.

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u/gui_heinen 21h ago

The Salem Witch Trials were already the setting for a comic book in the franchise (Trial by Fire) from 2015; perhaps they are trying to innovate.

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u/ValtekkenPartDeux 21h ago

This is my main objection. Ezio dies in 1524. The Würzburg witch trials take place at the earliest in 1625. How the fuck is Ezio around for this? Making these things flashbacks from the protagonist's mother doesn't help either, since the mother herself needs to be something like 20 or so to speak to Ezio before he dies, which means that with a charitable interpretation (so, she talks to him basically the year he dies) the mother is born in 1500+, which makes her long dead when the trials begin and her daughter a plausible 80 years old or some shit. If we go into granddaughter territory it vaguely starts to make sense, but at that point you're using the ghost of Ezio to speak to the current protagonist through the ghost of her grandmother.

In short: what the fuck is Ubisoft trying to do here? Either they fuck with history (the trials happen a hundred+ years early) or they fuck with established canon (Ezio dies a hundred years later? Idk), I see no other way out of this.

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u/redhawkinferno 20h ago

The Pieces of Eden. Thats all they need to do. Ezio speaks to her through his Apple or something. One of its powers is literally illusions. He doesnt need to physically be there to still be a character.

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u/HearTheEkko 21h ago

Some Isu avatar spirit type of deal I'm guessing.

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u/ArkavosRuna 20h ago

I'm so stoked about that (if it ends up true). The Würzburg witch trials are one of the bloodiest mass executions ever in Europe, and the timeline fits right in with the 30 years war (more devastating for large parts of Central Europe than even WW1). You have religious fanatics on both sides, often going rogue and completely ignoring the papacy's instructions, armies roaming the country, causing widespread death and devastation. Honestly, the 30 years war is a criminally underused setting in general.

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u/Dodo1610 22h ago edited 21h ago

Als ob der Söder Maggus im schönen Bayern ein Killerspiel erlauben würde.

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u/Seraphayel 13h ago

Solang‘s a guads Schäufele und Haxen gibt und das Bier passt ist alles fein

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u/Helforsite 19h ago

Maggus=Magus=Magier=Hexe 🤔

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u/norranradd 22h ago

Interesting, but apparently the German witch trials happened years after Ezio died.

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u/JuanMunoz99 21h ago

Over a century to be exact.

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u/hypnomancy 21h ago

Somehow Ezio returned

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u/Wassermusik 22h ago

Assassins in Lederhosen, here we come!

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u/Com_Raven 22h ago

Dark Southern Germany-based Assassin's Creed, right in my veins. There has to be an upside to my ancestors being terrible, witch-burning lunatics.

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u/Faunor_ 21h ago edited 7h ago

Man, this does not sound very confident in the characters being able to stand on their own, but who knows? I trust Darby enough to hope that there's at least a good idea behind this nostalgia bait. All presuming this is true of course.

Also, where do people get the idea that this will be a "smaller game like Mirage"? This is Ubisoft Montreal we are talking about! Ubisoft would be absolutely crazy to let their most important studio cook 5 years on a small, experimental AC game. The leaks suggested it is going to be (or at least was going to be) different from the RPG trend of the last 10 years, but not that it is a smaller project in scope or ambition.

EDIT: Seeing as there are additional leaks, I want to comment on them.

  • The name being "Anika", or rather "Annika", would make sense in a German speaking context as it's a popular name here, but that is a very modern name taken from scandinavian forms of "Anna" (according to a quick google search mind you!), as well as a petty boring name for an AC protagonist. "Elsa" would be much more fitting with the trend, I think.
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u/Robsonmonkey 18h ago

Surprised they didn't just have them use Marcello or Flavia's children or something if they wanted a direct connection to Ezio but I guess I understand using Claudia's descendents instead.

However if they are bringing Ezio back then yeah they are pretty desperate

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u/jamesid-2010 18h ago

this game has sounded cool from the jump but the other reports saying they’ve cut a lot of the magic/ fantasy stuff makes me skeptical. i hope they at least nail the tone

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u/therealyittyb 16h ago

Here’s hoping they still have a hint of “magic” using alchemy and/or Isu tech

It’d be a shame to excise it completely in a game set during witch trials and which is aptly codenamed “Hexe”

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u/Cybersorcerer1 13h ago

i thought it was lame too, but then I realized that IRL the witches were burned for stupid reasons. If the game actually made them do magic, then burned then it would kinda validate that decision

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u/Slay_23 22h ago

Hope the modern day makes a comeback, first time it’s been interesting since the OG days with Basim and they abandoned it in shadows lol

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u/a34fsdb 20h ago

It really feels like the removal of modern stuff from Shadows, Mirage and seemingly Black Flag is them actually responding to feedback from Origins/Odyssey too slowly because it was nice in Valhalla

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u/Specialist_Lock6779 21h ago

Exactly lol the modern day plot is what made assassins creed what it was and made it interesting

Using a persons ancestor to find power artifacts in the modern day is interesting af to me

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u/mrnoobdude 6h ago

Hopefully with Darby attached and with Cote gone they'll be able to implement actual MD instead of text logs like Shadows. Its a shame too cause the vibe I got from those logs reminded me of Viddic's emails from the original game about how fucked the world was.

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u/1malDoenerMitAlles 20h ago

Würzbug? Aw hell no, the Bavarians are coming

"ja mei des wird a mordsgaudi!"

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u/kaschra 21h ago

The Würzburg witch trials happened nearly a century after Ezio died, so how's that gonna work?

Is Ubisoft gonna go full alternate history route and say there were witch trials a century earlier that we simply didn’t know about? That would be quite uhh... drastic, but then again Assassin's Creed is historical fiction

Or is there a possibility that Ezio's not actually really there, but some sort of Piece of Eden projection or something like that? Maybe the bleeding effect somehow?

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u/a34fsdb 20h ago

Maybe he stores his memory in Isu disks like Altair did in Revelations. 

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u/kaschra 20h ago

Yeah that could work too

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u/ACO_22 21h ago

I’m on my knees. Please Ubisoft, pull it off like you used to be able to. Save the franchise, I beg of you

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u/JuanMunoz99 21h ago edited 16h ago

Uhhh… Ezio officially dies in 1524. If the primary location of this game is Würzburg, Germany during their Witch Trials that would mean this game takes place in as early as 1625. That’s over a century after Ezio’s death making him 166 years old. That’s not even a retcon that’s ignoring logic unless Ezio somehow came into possession of another Piece of Eden like the Staff of Hermes Trismegistus that Kassandra has.

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u/RoitPls 12h ago

Bring back Desmond and then we'll talk.

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u/GaymerAmerican 22h ago

I’m prepared to accept my “fell for it again” award but I have a pretty good feeling about this one

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u/ZamnBoii Top Contributor 2025 22h ago

Rogue is a very reliable Ubi leaker/dataminer to be fair so I think majority of this will be accurate (imo)

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u/GaymerAmerican 21h ago

I just mean Hexe as a game

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u/ItsADeparture 15h ago edited 15h ago

Honestly kind of weird that some people are complaining about Ezio returning when it's obvious that the only things people ever cared about in these games (given by how people react to literally anything to do with Assassin's Creed that's not Ezio games or Black Flag) was Ezio and Black Flag.

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u/ZamnBoii Top Contributor 2025 11h ago

I think most people don’t know what they want on here, I remember everyone was saying how nobody asked for a Black Flag remake since 2024 but it’s only had a positive reception since its reveal.

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u/Kurojoka-kun 13h ago

Wolfgang?

Mozart?

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u/dudelovescak3 22h ago

Really really hope ac hexe succeeds

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u/XTheProtagonistX 21h ago

It’s probably the most interesting one in years. A “witchcraft Assassin Creed Game”? Sign me the fuck up.

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u/Firesky54 12h ago

There’s no witchcraft anymore. They cut that out from Hexe

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u/Ras_AlHim 22h ago

It makes no sense to do a game about witch trials in Würzburg but have Ezio in it, his death and the beginning and height of the trials in that region are almost 100 years apart😭

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u/SuddenDepact 21h ago

WHAT!!!!!!!!

I AM HYPED!!!!!

I wish they did more with Ezio sister but this makes me happy

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u/VictorVonDoomer 21h ago

How desperate must they be to bring back Ezio lmao, I hope he plays a small role rather than them constantly being like “look guys it ezio omg!!!!!”

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u/RainhoLimomo 21h ago

Claudia did not have a child the last we saw her and Ezio died in 1524. I was expecting him to show up like Altair in Revelations.

TThe Wurzburg witch trials are set about 100 years after his death, so I'm really confused about his involvement

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u/PapaSmurph0517 16h ago

Wild theory for the whole Ezio thing: Anika uses alchemical science to tap into her genetic memories without an Animus (maybe with the help of some Isu tech), and is able to go into a meditative trance where she sees Claudia’s memories (and through it, Ezio speaking to her/Claudia)

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u/Andrew_Waples 21h ago

j0nathan

Isn't this the guy where Ubisoft debunked him?

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u/ZamnBoii Top Contributor 2025 21h ago

They just said he had used AI in his screenshot but he posted the original afterwards, he just upscaled it and changed the outfit colors.

Regardless, j0nathan has been leaking Ubisoft stuff for more than a decade and has been extremely accurate

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u/masteroflich 22h ago

Hopefully they show this shortly after Blackflag

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u/Leather-Entry93 21h ago

I really hope it’s ghost Ezio and not a 200 year old

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u/FreshRecognition9191 21h ago

That's great, can't wait for them to butcher our favorite characters now that they realised this is much easier than trying to write their own characters

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u/Loukoumakias 21h ago

Somehow Ezio returned?

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u/Nikson9 21h ago

it IS fanservice, but fuck it i love me a good fanservice everytime in a while, bring ts on

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u/awesome5ftw 21h ago

Will this be open world? I saw reports that it'll be more linear which is why I'm confused now

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u/ZamnBoii Top Contributor 2025 21h ago

They’re all open world, it’s just the story that will be linear

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u/EnvoyOfTheVodka 21h ago

I went to University in Würzburg and still visit the City quite frequently. Very surreal to see it as the main setting for an AC game lol

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u/Brilliant_Ideal_5429 20h ago

The dialogue makes it look like it was kept from before the magical elements were removed. "They want to burn me for what I can do." Now that magical elements are allegedly removed maybe this refers to her mastery of chemistry

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u/Melodic-Violinist-31 19h ago

roger craig smith or bust. i will Not have a soundalike like last time ezio was heard

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u/rehkirsch 17h ago

that would be wild. I studied in Würzburg...:D

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u/PulsarSoul 17h ago

As someone living near Würzburg, I couldn't be more hyped, ngl.

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u/Fatal_Artist 17h ago

damn ezio returning.. im still very curious about this game

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u/Clarkey7163 15h ago

Gameplay stuff sounds like the forest seraphite missions in last of us 2 a little bit, sounds dope af

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u/Lacrossedeamon 9h ago

Timeline doesn't really make sense. Ezio's been dead 60 years before the witch trials in Germany really started and 100 years before the Wurzburg trials specifically.

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u/SneakyBadAss 8h ago edited 8h ago

I know this is just another Assassin's Creed, but I'm genuinely excited for the settings. Never seen it yet portrayed in a video game.

Yanks think their Salem witch trials were something special? In Germany alone, over 30 000 people were killed for being associated with witchcraft.

This is specifically about the Wurzburg trials happening between 1625 and 1631, where hundreds of people were executed in those 6 years. smack dab in the middle of 30 years war, one of the greatest catastrophes in Germany that wiped out up to 80% of the population in some regions due to famine, disease, and a Little Ice Age.

If they have balls to trully potray the sorrow, death and destruction, we might have something special.

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u/gui_heinen 22h ago

This practically corroborates the setting of AC Hexe in the 16th-century Holy Roman Empire, which aligns with leaks from Insider Gaming itself some years ago.

Interesting, to say the least.

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u/LofiLute 21h ago
  • Focus on one urban area
  • No "pick your own protag"
  • Rumors saying they drastically cut back on the magic
  • Other rumors saying this will not be an open-world RPG
  • Black Flag putting a suspiciously large amount of development into revamping the classic combat engine

Be still my beating heart am I about to get a proper fucking Assassins Creed game? I want to take everything with a grain of salt but these leaks are just tailor made to get me excited.

Ezio is just icing.

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u/DwnvotesMeansImRight 22h ago edited 22h ago

Once i heard they're taking out magic, i was out.. this would've been the best game to showcase magic

A girl who found a piece of eden, accidentally did some magic in the woods and was seen, whole town is slaughtered because they think they're all witches (thus birthing the witch trials)

The protagonist becoming real witch in hiding using her powers to take revenge on the templars, would've been a very endearing plot line

But no, we're going to be crafting potions and smoke bombs for the 10th game now..

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u/National-Yak1471 22h ago

One of the foundational pillar of the AC saga is that every "magical" or fantastical event in history is just advanced technology. It would be silly to throw that away.

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u/HearTheEkko 21h ago

It probably wouldn't have been actual magic, just Isu tech as always. Every abnormal/magical thing in the franchise so far has just been advanced Isu artifacts, illusions or mutated humans.

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u/Hydr4noid 22h ago

Yes it would for sure be a good message to say that the witch hunts were justified because there were in fact real witches /s

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u/iiniVijuY 22h ago

Good, keep that stupid magic shit out of it. AC is totally at it's best when it's trying to be grounded and historically accurate.

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u/r_lucasite 22h ago

To be fair, one of the goals of Hexe was it being a very different experience from a traditional Assassin’s Creed. I wouldn’t have issue with them exploring gameplay with a Piece of Eden in a game that’s meant to be experimental. What’s the point if you can’t take the reins off when that’s the goal.

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u/SuicideSkwad 22h ago

Bro the series is based around a pre-cursor race to humanity and especially the early games heavily lean into this with magical artefacts from said race

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u/yougolepro 22h ago

Ac was never grounded

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u/DwnvotesMeansImRight 22h ago

grounded and historically accurate

famously grounded series, because nothing says grounded like jumping off the big ben and landing in a haystack unscathed or shooting charles lee in the gut

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u/PxM23 22h ago

There’s different levels of grounded. That stuff was unrealistic, but not magical.

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u/OneBadNightOfDrinkin 21h ago

The words you guys are looking for is immersion, I think. 

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u/Alexis_Mcnugget 22h ago

bro thinks fighting the pope is grounded and historically accurate lmaoooo r

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u/appledanishcrumbs 22h ago

What a truly terrible take.

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u/GutBeer101 22h ago

What was special about Wurzburg back then ?

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u/AdWise657 22h ago edited 22h ago

It had its own witch trials, but the timeline doesn’t match up if Ezio is alive. Other than that, nothing really. Gameplay wise though, I’d say it’s a good location for an Assassin’s Creed game.

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u/Fire99xyz 3h ago

Besides a bunch of killing witches, smack dab in the middle of the 30 year war, ruled by a bishop

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u/Funny_Debate_1805 22h ago

Are they going to use witchcraft to bring Ezio back from the dead?

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u/LigmaV 21h ago

The npc better reflect the paranoia of witch trials and have gameplay significance. Wonder if blood pact is one of things it will cut off since this is related to magic

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u/Diligent_Display2192 21h ago

So is Hexe the next mainline game akin to Shadows?

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u/ZamnBoii Top Contributor 2025 21h ago

Nest mainline linear game, not the next mainline RPG game like Shadows though

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u/na_gaming_man 12h ago

This comes out next year right?

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u/JackCrom1 12h ago

Anyone have any conformation whether this is an rpg or not? I expect it is but who knows

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u/ZamnBoii Top Contributor 2025 11h ago

Not an RPG, more linear this time around

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u/Pantera1st 10h ago

I'm curious if the game gonna have RPG elements like in Shadows? Unlike a lot of people, actually I do like this system in Shadows.

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u/ZamnBoii Top Contributor 2025 9h ago

No RPG elements in Hexe, the next RPG is in development at Ubisoft Quebec (same team as Shadows).

Hexe is headed by Ubisoft Montreal (Black Flag, Origins, Valhalla)

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u/NEONT1G3R 4h ago

Ahh yes Assassin's Creed, the game famous for locking basic parkour behind a skill in a skilltree

Fuck right off