Which Assassin's Creed Remake Should Ubisoft Make Next?

Following the strong launch of Assassin's Creed Black Flag Remake, fans are already debating Ubisoft's next remake project, with Assassin's Creed, the Ezio Trilogy, and even Unity emerging as leading contenders.

Ubisoft appears to have another big hit on its hands with Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Remake, and eyes are already turning to what’s next for the franchise. After the remake reportedly sold over 2 million copies in its first 24 hours, many fans have started asking the same question: Which Assassin’s Creed game should be remade next?

Black Flag’s commercial success has bolstered the idea that Ubisoft can do well with both fresh Assassin’s Creed entries and modern remakes of classic titles. Recreating fan-favorite games provides the publisher with another steady stream of money, while letting new players enjoy some of the series’ most beloved adventures with updated visuals and gameplay features.

Ubisoft has not tended to produce major remakes in the past, but Black Flag may have opened the door to a long-term strategy akin to that of other big publishers.

Or rather than banking on new releases, the corporation might progressively upgrade its huge Assassin’s Creed back catalog. That prospect has reignited debate over where Ubisoft should head next, with the original Assassin's Creed, the Ezio Trilogy, and even subsequent games like Unity and Syndicate all surfacing as strong contenders.

For many long-term fans, the original Assassin's Creed is the most obvious next remake. It is of huge historical importance, as it is the game that introduced Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad and created the foundation for the series. But rebuilding Assassin's Creed is not simply a matter of putting a fresh coat of graphics on it. Black Flag offered plenty of mechanical fun long before its reboot, but the original Assassin's Creed shows its age in several key areas.

Combat, parkour, mission design, tempo, and side content would all need serious reworking rather than simply updating. One of the game’s worst points is often cited as its repetitive investigation system, full of eavesdropping, pickpocketing, and long-tailing tasks. A new version would almost certainly have to completely reconsider these mechanics.

The revised mission concept of Black Flag shows one solution. Objectives can change dynamically rather than requiring players to fail immediately after detection during stealth sequences. Instead of starting from a checkpoint, players can kill their target, retrieve documents, and continue the story normally. Think of the versatility that would provide for Assassin's Creed; the game's tempo might be massively improved while still keeping the original storyline.

Bettering the game would be just half the problem. The first Assassin's Creed focuses heavily on Desmond Miles and the Modern Day plot outside the Animus. Those chapters are the backbone of the tale of the earlier games, tying Altaïr's story to the greater war between Assassins and Templars. Black Flag downplayed the importance of gameplay at the time, making it easier for Ubisoft to trim its version.

Assassin's Creed was not so fortunate.

Removing or drastically changing Desmond's sequences would profoundly disrupt the experience, and reproducing them properly would need significant development resources. Despite being one of the most requested, Assassin's Creed is one of the hardest titles to recreate in the franchise, and that's because of that balancing act.

Black Flag is a much bigger game in terms of area size and campaign duration. Still, perhaps the original Assassin's Creed would require more redesign work, as almost all of the gameplay systems would need to be brought up to modern standards. If Ubisoft is more interested in financial success than historical order, many think the Ezio Trilogy could be the next remake. Assassin’s Creed II, Brotherhood, and Revelations remain among the franchise’s most beloved installments, largely due to the protagonist, Ezio Auditore, one of gaming's best-known characters.

From a business perspective, rebuilding Assassin’s Creed II first gives a clear blueprint. Strong sales would inevitably lead to Brotherhood and Revelations, giving Ubisoft the chance to develop a full trilogy over a few years. These games would still need improvements to combat, traversal, and mission design, but they would potentially require less drastic alterations than the original Assassin's Creed.

Their gameplay underpinnings are still stronger, with fewer hazardous undertakings and meaningful enhancements. However, it would be strange to go into the Ezio Trilogy and completely ignore Assassin's Creed, given how much of the original story and Desmond’s larger storyline the games build upon. Another option for Ubisoft to explore is returning to the franchise's latter pre-Origins era.

Titles like Assassin's Creed Unity, Syndicate, and even Rogue, have had something of a reputation renaissance in recent years.

Unity’s tumultuous debut is famed for its technical issues, but many gamers today remember its parkour system, looks, and complex city design far more fondly. Syndicate has also been praised for its complex mechanics and the Victorian London setting. These titles already include more current gameplay mechanisms than Assassin’s Creed or Assassin's Creed II. So remakes would probably need to be polished rather than completely overhauled. 

They could be tempting options if Ubisoft wishes to release remakes more often, given their reduced development workload. Today, it seems that Unity and Syndicate are the two with the most community interest of the three. At the same time, Rogue remains the least commercially prominent despite its unique relationship to Black Flag’s naval gameplay. Then, there is the potential that Ubisoft has already made its decision.

A report has claimed work on another Assassin’s Creed remake had started long before Black Flag actually dropped. If that is true, development could have been brewing for years. That would reflect Black Flag’s own development arc, which languished in a loop of leaks and speculations for years before ultimately getting its formal unveiling.

If Ubisoft follows a similar pattern, fans might be listening to conjecture for the next year or two before the firm formally announces its next remake, with the actual release perhaps coming many years later. The early success of Black Flag has made one thing abundantly clear: no matter if Ubisoft decides to go the ambitious route of reconstructing the original Assassin’s Creed, or bet on the enduring appeal of the Ezio Trilogy, or update later entries like Unity or Syndicate,

The Assassin’s Creed remakes are no longer a one-off experiment. They might play a huge role in Ubisoft’s long-term plan, and the discussion over which great adventure comes back next has only just begun.