Assassin’s Creed Could Bring Back Playable Modern-Day Sections

Ubisoft is reportedly discussing the return of modern-day gameplay in future Assassin’s Creed titles, potentially reconnecting historical adventures with the franchise's contemporary storyline.

Ubisoft might be looking at bringing back playable modern-day sections in future Assassin's Creed games, apparently. That's the gist of a new rumor. It's already sparked a bit of discussion on the forums about whether the franchise's narrative approach could be improved by returning to one of its original features. Modern day has always been part of the AC formula; its role has just evolved quite dramatically over the years.

The story apparently comes from PlayStation Inside France, which reports that Ubisoft has been holding internal discussions and workshops about bringing back playable modern-day content. The workshops reportedly focus on how to link the modern-day narrative to the historical content, the main draw of recent Assassin's Creed titles.

Ubisoft has not confirmed these reports (as far as we know), but the idea is certainly worth considering for the franchise's future. The original modern-day gameplay had a narrative thread that linked the various historical periods, letting you see how past events affected the present day. That thread has, of course, become increasingly marginal as Ubisoft has moved on to bigger historical settings and more RPG-centric experiences.

The modern-day story has always divided the Assassin's Creed community. For some, it's absolutely the point of the whole thing, the reason for connecting the various games and giving them a larger narrative purpose beyond just the exploration of a historical period. For others, it's a complete intrusion into the flow of the historical adventures, particularly when you've invested in the characters and the conflict of a particular era.

The discussion also raises the question of how Ubisoft should approach the franchise going forward. There's clearly a view that modern-day sections are fine as long as they're done properly and actually add something to the story. Rather than seeing the modern-day section as a break in the narrative, it could link the historical characters and major events to the rest of the AC universe.

However, bringing that feature back after so long could also reignite complaints from the very people who liked the series in its more historical days.

Ubisoft would have to strike a balance between the modern-day story and the historical experience, which is what so many in the audience come for. Just bringing back the old mechanics wouldn't necessarily make it any better. Beyond the modern-day rumor, there's also been talk of remakes, prequels, and sequels. The continued interest in Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag clearly indicates that the older games still have a following. The pirate setting, sea battles, and characters are all part of the franchise's history, and that alone makes a return to that era very appealing.

Ubisoft could leverage the popularity of its existing titles to go in all sorts of directions with its next few projects. On the other hand, remaking old games or creating new stories in the same universe would, of course, raise expectations about how much they should deviate from the original. People would probably be happy to see the characters and locations return, but they'd also expect real improvement rather than just a rehash.

The potential return of modern-day gameplay could be another key element of that strategy. Tying the historical adventures together through a more cohesive modern narrative could help establish a more consistent identity for the franchise in the future. It could also give Ubisoft a chance to return to story elements fans have been waiting for.

For now, the reported internal discussions should be treated as an unconfirmed rumor rather than an announcement of a coming feature. Ubisoft has not said whether the modern-day sections will return in future projects, or how it intends to handle the franchise's wider narrative.

Ultimately, it's all about bringing back the modern-day gameplay. That could either reinvigorate long-time fans or reopen the very debates that have surrounded the series for years. Whether it works will depend on how Ubisoft integrates that into the historical adventures. The fans aren't necessarily asking for the past to come back exactly as it was. They want a good story that makes both timelines worthwhile.