Assassin's Creed Valhalla has had three major DLC expansions since its launch in 2020, with the latest being the Dawn of Ragnarok, but Ubisoft is yet to officially confirm what's coming next. Dawn of Ragnarok put players in control of Odin once more as he searches for his kidnapped son, Baldur, in the realm of the dwarves known as Svartalfheim. While this DLC is set to be the end of the new expansions releasing for Assassin's Creed Valhalla, players may have a small-scope new AC game coming before the release of the rumored Assassin's Creed Infinity.
Assassin's Creed Infinity is a new game rumored to release in 2022, although a 2023 release may be more likely given the resources that Ubisoft is supposedly putting into the development of it. With work being done in both of the Quebec and Montreal studios for the game, a longer timeline than the traditional two years seen in between game releases is more than likely to come. There have been, however, rumors of another Assassin's Creed game that may release before Infinity that would focus on the stealth-based combat that the first couple of games emphasized.
The rumored Assassin's Creed game is called Rift, according to details first reported by Bloomberg's Jason Schreier. According to the details, Rift is only a speculated name for a project that was supposed to be an additional DLC expansion for Assassin's Creed Valhalla. The report cited people familiar with the game speaking anonymously since they weren't authorized to speak to the media about the project, and at this time Ubisoft has refused to comment anything about the rumors that confirm or deny Assassin's Creed Rift. Allegedly, the former expansion turned possible game would be much smaller than recent releases such as Origins, Odyssey, and Valhalla, but it would feature Basim as the protagonist.
Who Basim Is In Assassin's Creed Valhalla
Basim Ibn Ishaq is a member of the Hidden Ones, the group that would eventually become the Assassin Brotherhood later on in the series. He is also the reincarnation of an Isu named Loki, the same Loki that is distinctively featured in Norse Mythology as a key antagonist. Much like Eivor in Assassin's Creed Valhalla, Basim was born in the 9th century a millennia after the Great Catastrophe that wiped out all of the Isu civilization. Through Yggdrasil, Loki was able to pass on his memories to Basim, though it had taken some time before the human remembered who he was in a former life.
The rumored Assassin's Creed Rift would follow Basim in his time with the Hidden Ones before he met Eivor and the other Raven Clan members. As a potential origin story for Basim, the game would likely take place in Baghdad due to the character mentioning his time there in Assassin's Creed Valhalla. Basim was known for working primarily in foreign nations for the Hidden Ones on their behalf, but given the limited scope of this DLC, it's likely he would stay within a heavily populated city of the Abbasid Caliphate. Whereas Eivor's memories of Odin are slowly revealed in Assassin's Creed Valhalla, a shorter timeline is plausible for Basim as well. It isn't known exactly when Basim gained the memories of his former life as Loki, so the plot of Assassin's Creed Rift could transition perfectly from DLC to a fully fleshed-out game.
The release of Assassin's Creed Rift before Infinity would allow fans to return to a style of game that hasn't been seen since Assassin's Creed Revelations. Additionally, since Assassin's Creed Rift would be a DLC turned into a game, it's likely that the story would take less time to complete than the other recent franchise installments. Similarly smaller scale entries, such as Assassin's Creed: Freedom Cry and Assassin's Creed: Rogue, had shorter completion times than Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag or Assassin's Creed Unity, so it's possible that the rumored Rift may boast a similar playtime.
Unlike AC Valhalla's Dawn of Ragnarok DLC, it makes more sense for AC Rift to be its own game no matter the length since it would feature a new protagonist. Freedom Cry was also supposed to be DLC for Black Flag, but given its length and new protagonist, Ubisoft had released it as a standalone game.
Assassin's Creed Rift Could Lead Into AC Infinity
Assassin's Creed Infinity is supposed to be a game that spans multiple settings across the AC timeline, which compliments the series idea that people are able to speak to one another through different points of history. The animus has long been the central component of all Assassin's Creed games, allowing players to step into the shoes of key figures throughout that existed through the brotherhood's history. Valhalla not only continued this, but it also expanded upon the idea by introducing a method for the Isu to preserve their consciousness over multiple generations. Through Eivor, Assassin's Creed Valhalla was able to completely break the circle of life by allowing players to step into the shoes of someone who was the reincarnation of someone else.
This idea is likely going to play a part in Assassin's Creed Infinity, and AC Rift would be the perfect game to lead into that idea. Presumably, Basim had a much easier time recollecting his memories as Loki, which would allow the game to have a shorter narrative and time-to-complete. Additionally, a smaller game focusing on a member of the Hidden Ones would allow the series to return to its roots that favored stealth over open-world combat.
Without a doubt, one of AC Valhalla's biggest strengths is its open-world setting, but a smaller Assassin's Creed could mean a better story and a chance for any small details to wrap up or be established ahead of Infinity's release. A smaller Assassin's Creed game ahead of Infinity, particularly if it is Rift, is perfect because would provide ample content to explore without needing to constantly replay the game to gather new details.
In the case of Assassin's Creed titles, the shorter games tend to have more memorable moments compared to their size because there isn't so much room for filler content. Additionally, it would also likely mean that whatever side objectives AC Rift would have would be pertinent to the story, and not required to complete in order to level up or get better perks. This was partially what made the Assassin's Creed games featuring Desmond Miles so narratively strong, as they didn't require side objectives to be completed in order to use more abilities. They all came naturally as part of the games' progression, and it would be fantastic to see Assassin's Creed return to that style of play.
Source: Bloomberg