Confirming recent rumors of a pirate-themed Assassin’s Creed game, Ubisoft has officially announced that Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag will be the next installment in the popular series, and will contain one hour of PlayStation 3 exclusive content.
Additional details on Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag are due out next week. At this point everything we officially know comes from the game’s box art, which reveals that it will be released for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii U, and PC. The publisher has not officially disclosed if Black Flag is in development for either the PlayStation 4 or unannounced Xbox 720, but we are speculating that it will eventually be announced as a split-generation release.
Aside from the platform announcements, the box art suggests that Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag will borrow heavily from the wonderful naval battles in Assassin’s Creed III. A new protagonist dressed in assassin’s gear is prominently shown on the cover, standing over what looks to be a dead pirate. The scene takes place on an old sailing ship, and there is a black flag with a white assassin’s logo and skull being hoisted in the background.
Similar to the Benedict Arnold missions in Assassin’s Creed III, the PlayStation 3 box art also notes that the Sony version of Black Flag will include “60 minutes of exclusive gameplay”.
Rumors from earlier this week suggested that Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag will take place in 1715, and be a prequel to Assassin’s Creed III. The new game is said to feature Edward Kenway (father of ACIII‘s Haytham Kenway) as the main protagonist. Edward is a known “Privateer, Assassin and occasional pirate,” who operates out of the following Caribbean islands; Jamaica, Cuba, and the Bahamas.
In addition to the speculation about Black Flag, VGleaks is reporting Ubisoft has a second Assassin’s Creed game in development, which will be released for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox 720/Durango this year. This has not been confirmed by Ubisoft and should be considered a rumor.
Ubisoft will fully unveil Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag on Monday, March 4th. Make sure to check back with us then for the full details.
