As soon as it was announced, speculation as to Assassin’s Creed Red’s time period and setting went rampant. It’s hard to pinpoint which it will be, though the one image does give a few hints, but it’s much easier to pinpoint when it won’t be set. Indeed, there are at least two reasons, one relatively minor and one much bigger, that AC Red will not take place during the Mongol Invasion of Japan.
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Assassin’s Creed Lore About the Mongol Empire
The first is relatively minor, but fans should know that Assassin’s Creed has explored this culture before. It may not have been a heavy feature of a game, and on its own, this doesn’t stop anything. Japanese lore has been explored heavily prior to Assassin’s Creed Red, but it’s because the most interesting angles for a Mongol Empire-based video game have already been covered. Altair, Darim, and the legendary Mongolian Assassin Qulan Gal (from Assassin’s Creed 2) were responsible for the death of Genghis Khan. Then, the Mongols tie into the destruction of Masyaf, as well as the story of Marco Polo and Kublai Khan.
The Kublai Khan story makes the Mongol Invasion of Japan as a whole unlikely, but generally speaking, the swathes of lore from this couldn’t deviate from what was yet. In other words, because of how tied to Altair and the Assassin’s Creed franchise the most historied elements of the Mongol Empire are, the entirety of it is unlikely to ever feature in a game. The second reason, with support from Kublai Khan’s story, makes the entirety of this invasion specifically unlikely.
Assassin’s Creed Red vs. Ghost of Tsushima
The second reason is that Ghost of Tsushima beat AC Red to the Mongol Invasion. Many already consider Ghost of Tsushima an “Assassin’s Creed game” set in Japan, so comparisons at the time of Red’s release will no doubt intensify. Furthermore, this series serves as a direct competitor for Assassin’s Creed Red if Ghost of Tsushima gets a sequel, no matter what a supposed sequel is set. It’s unknown of course, but if these games were to release close together, that’s just going to intensify it even more.
However, it should be noted that the history of Japan is a long and storied one, one well worth exploring in video games. There’s a ton more that AC Red or Ghost of Tsushima 2 could dive through, but placing two major games into one time period would not do Japan’s potential justice. And that is something Ubisoft is no doubt keenly aware of.
Assassin’s Creed Red is in development.
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