Assassin’s Creed Shadowsis the newest game coming from Ubisoft, but we all know there will be another game in the series coming next.What that game will be is anyone’s guess at the moment, but there is one setting that would be the perfect follow-up. That setting, however, might already be crossed off the table because of Ubisoft’s own previous attempts at placing a game there.
Assassin’s Creed Shadowshas a new place in the timeline, which gives them a lot of options for sequels or prequels.It sits firmly in the 16th century, giving us a new timeframe to play around in as well as a new setting. It opens up a lot of possibilities and a lot of ways forward, particularly after the last few games spent a lot of time in antiquity. However, there is one setting that stands out among the rest as the best possible move for Ubisoft to make.
China Could Be The Perfect AC Setting To Follow Japan
Staying In The Far East Is A Good Step Forward
Staying in the Far East would make the most sense for the mainline games. In the past,games have followed each other in similar parts of the worldfor a few entries before moving on. The first few games took place around Italy, the next took place in the Americas. The last few entries have taken place insimilar settings in antiquity, with the exception ofValhalla.Even so,Valhallawas still very thematically connected to the other recent games, and it felt like a good midpoint to get us to the 16th century.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows Shorter Length Is Great For The Series
Assassin’s Creed Shadows is a significantly shorter game that its predecessors, and that’s an important step that’ll hugely benefit the series.
That said, sticking to the same side of the world would make a lot of sense for the next entry afterAssassin’s Creed Shadows. China has a deep history, and it could be near the same time period orat nearly any point in known history. Chinese games have had a big impact on the gaming world recently, as seen inBlack Myth Wukong, which could be an even better reason to go there as opposed to anywhere else on the same side of the world.
To me, it just makes sense for this to be the next one,but I think there’s one big reason why Ubisoft won’t go to China next, and it has to do with where Ubisoft has been in the past.
Assassin’s Creed Has Already Gone To China — Twice
No Mainline Games But Two Other AC Games Have Already Seen China
Assassin’s Creed Jadeis an upcoming mobile gamebased in China in the 3rd Century BCE, which is at the time of the first unified empire in China. This means thatyou will be exploring the area of China that was under the Qin dynasty. Right now, not that much is known, as it was delayed due to various issues. But it still remains that Ubisoft has already put a lot of effort and work into this version of China that we will see in the mobile game.
However, there was an even earlier game released for the Xbox One and PS4. This wasAssassin’s Creed Chronicles: China, released in 2015,and was set in 1526-1532 during the Ming dynasty. This already puts it very close to the timeframe we see inAssassin’s Creed Shadows, which makes the hope for a sequel in China a little lower.
Two games already set in China, one of them around the same timeframe, seems likeit would force Ubisoft to take a different direction with the next game. There are other interesting locations nearby, but it seems unfortunate that their past games that were not as well-developed as a mainline game would ruin the chance for a big game set in China.
There’s Never Been A Better Time For An AC Game In China
The Gaming Market & The Setting All Point To China
Between the popularity ofBlack Myth Wukong, and the rest of the influx of the Chinese PC gaming market in general,this is the time to take advantage of that popularity and push the game into China. The gaming market in China is massive, which could explain the existence ofAssassin’s Creed Jade, but a strong mainline game has a lot of potential as well.
I personally would love to play a mainline game in China after this. After all, the interconnectedness ofOrigins, Odyssey,andMiragewas really satisfying for me as I played through them. Having something similar in the Far Eastwould have the chance to have that same interconnectedness. I could even see a third game set in Persia or India. While there has also been a chronicles game in India, there is plenty of deep history there that could allow us to have a mainline game there as well.
Trade routes were established on that side of the world for a very long time, so there’s no reason that they couldn’t have a strong connection. If they want to wait to use the China setting to have some time betweenJadeand a mainline game,they could use India or Persia to fill that space before heading to China, but I personally want them to go to China first. I think it would make sense for the games to slowly make their way back west from China.
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However, the big elephant in the room still stands.It feels like Ubisoft might have hurt themselves on this one, with two big games in China already in existence.Assassin’s Creed Jadeis a big mobile game, and it’s coming out quite soon comparatively. It would be very odd for them to release two games in China in a row, even if one of them was a mobile game. It already felt like thesetting in Japan happened a little too late, so a delay on a mainline China game would be even more disappointing.
It is what it is where that’s concerned, and I enjoy seeing different locations and settings around the world no matter what.I hope we at least stay in the Far East, even if it’s not China. There are plenty of options and an ancient history to pull from, so there shouldn’t be any issues coming up with a story. Ubisoft definitely missed the opportunity to some extent, but I will be excited to see what comes next, even if it isn’t in China, afterAssassin’s Creed Shadows.
