Japan, Germany, Russia? Where Next for Assassin's Creed?

If you know me, then you probably know that Assassin's Creed is unequivocally my all time favorite video game franchise. I have spent more hours than I probably am willing to admit pouring into my beautiful assassins over the last 8 years, yet I wouldn't change a thing. Assassin's Creed, to me, has been one of those games that wasn't about completing or mastering, it has always been about experiencing and being a part of something with a bigger story arc outside of the simple hack/slash or a streamline 1st person shooter. There's something that just draws me into the bigger story as it progresses through the different Assassins' individual lives.

Now for those who may not have played the Assassin's Creed line as nearly religiously as I have, you may not understand the games overall story. Assassin's Creed in essence a power struggle between two secretive historical societies: The Assassins and The Knights Templar. Both secret societies have strong ties to religion, politics, science and mysticism throughout the entire progression of games. The Assassins Order are shown as trying to protect the world from an incredible power left by an ancient alien race called the Pieces of Eden whereas the Templar Order seek only to gain the power for their own purpose in order to direct the fate of the world with that very power.

Wait, what?! Assassins, Templars & Aliens Oh My!!

Yes, that truly is the premise of the Assassin's Creed Franchise. All the success has been built of of that story arc, and it's been a wild ride of stealth, assassination, exploration, parkour, free-running and thievery in the last 8 years that Ubisoft has been putting out sequel after sequel. Each sequel progresses the story a little more as we meet new assassins out of the lineage of the first character in the original [Assassin's Creed](tag:437814), Desmond Miles. This lineage includes all of the assassins that we have met thus far, each focusing on a different era or overall motif.

The lineage and era progression of the characters are as follows:

• Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad - Assassin's Creed I - The Crusades for the Holy Land (late 1100's)
• Ezio Auditore da Firenze - Assassin's Creed II, Brotherhood & Revelations - The Renaissance (early 1500's)
• Edward Kenway - Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag - Colonial Era:Britain (early 1700's)
• Haytham Kenway - Assassin's Creed: Rogue - Colonial Era:Britain (mid 1700's)
• Connor Kenway (Ratonhnhaké:ton) - Assassin's Creed III - Colonial Era:Britain (late 1700's)
• Aveline de Grandpré - Assassin's Creed: Liberation - Colonial Era:America (late 1700's)
• Arno Victor Dorian - Assassin's Creed: Unity - French Revolution (late 1700's)
• Jacob & Evie Frye - Assassin's Creed: Syndicate - Victorian England (mid 1800's)
• Desmond Miles - Assassin's Creed I, II, Brotherhood & Revelations - Modern (early 2000's)

Assassin's Creed covers a fairly extensive history of our world, from the Crusades to the current culture, but I think that there is the potential for some additional growth and expansion overall. So with that in mind, I've been thinking about what other cultures and time periods could the Assassins have operated within seeing as we are led to assume that they are a global society with ties to every culture and major historical events. Here are a few of my thoughts in order of time period.

Japan - Meiji Period

I think that there could be a great transition into the Japanese culture, and we could have some incredible play-ability if you really start to think about it. The Japanese culture around the Meiji period would be incredible to put into the Assassin's Franchise. Towards the end of the Meiji Period, Japan was in essence phasing out the 'old' military presence of the Samurai and instead training 'western-style' military with weaponry other than the classic swords and long bows (which would both be awesome to be able to fight with) as well as staffs and chained weapons. This Japanese assassin would enter the brotherhood as the modernization was in the midst, allowing for both facets of fighting to be delved into. You'd have the Samurai classes fighting with the government, who are in turn fighting with the lower class, who are in turn in turmoil economically. All of these aspects would make for a phenomenal transitional piece for the Franchise.

Germany - WWII

Think about it, World War II was one of the largest collections of global powers coming together in strife. If there's one period that an assassin would run free, I would imagine that the Second World War would be one of those time periods. I can envision the Brotherhood of Assassins operating in an attempt to halt the reach of the Third Reich, especially with the assumption that Hitler indeed had a fondness for occult and mystic objects I would have to assume that he was a pawn of the Templar Order as they continued their search for the power over the world. Wrapping the conspiracy of the war with the concept of it being a global fight between the Assassins and Templar could really make it a popular title if done politically correct.

Russia - Cold War

One of the greatest standstills in our known history, we find our world in a state of political and militaristic tension. The culture lived in a state of constant fear of Mutually Assured Destruction and total nuclear war. The Templar Order orchestrating the entire ordeal in an attempt to shift power to the Marxist society of absolute power and order from the US Capitalist power of free trade and openness. From within the Cold War there was the Non-Aligned Movement of Egyptian, Indian, Indonesian & Yugoslavian factions avoided siding with either side is where our assassin brother would come from. A non-involved party attempting to oppose the Templar Order from the shadows. That sounds like a unique twist to me.

America - Wild West

The expansion across the continent of the United States was at the time only for the thrill seekers and unlawful in some instances. Yet, there was law and order in the west, brought forth by another descendant of Desmond Miles. A 'cowboy' assassin would be quite interesting to control. His primary weapons being more firearm over swords and daggers, but in reality this cowboy has been trained and equipped to halt the progress of the Templar Order, the greedy 'gold diggers' who in reality are searching for the treasures that are buried deep within the earth that could give them the global power they seek.

I think that these 4 additional assassins could stretch the franchise into new directions, and they all ultimately bring us closer to a full circle story back to Desmond Miles as they are all in the lineage of Desmond and each game progressively brings us closer to the current time line.