Ubisoft is changing the way it tells the modern-day Assassin’s Creed storyline by pulling it out of the games and making it a part of Assassin’s Creed Infinity.

Revealed at a press conference ahead of today’s Ubisoft Forward, vice president executive producer of Assassin's Creed, Marc-Alexis Côté, explained to journalists that the upcoming hub platform for the series will be the new home of the Assassin’s Creed meta storyline.

In an interview with IGN, Côté explained further: “I wanted [Infinity] to perfectly be a good entry point [to the series],” he said. “And that's where extracting the meta story from our games and making it live at the platform level is an important change for the franchise.”

The launch of the Infinity platform and its first game, Codename Red, will mark the start of what Ubisoft calls Period 3 of Assassin’s Creed. Period 1 covers the series from its inception to Assassin’s Creed Syndicate (essentially the action/adventure era), while Period 2 covers the RPG era of Origins, Odyssey, and Valhalla. This new period has been designed to be a good place for new players to join, and as such it made sense for the more complex, ongoing meta story set in the modern day to be separated from the standalone historical tales.

“People who love just immersing themselves in the past will be able to jump right in there and never be interrupted or need to know who Desmond and Layla is,” said Côté.

As explained as part of today’s Assassin’s Creed Showcase, Infinity is not a game, but rather a launcher-like hub for the series. That means the modern day storyline will likely not be told through a playable character like Desmond or Layla. Côté held back on explaining exactly how the story will be told, but did say that we should expect the method to change as time goes on.

“The way we tell the story will evolve with time,” Côté said. “But the abstraction that we want people to have is [Infinity] is your Animus. It is your DNA Explorer on your desktop. You are the main story character.”

For the full details we have so far, check out our full Assassin’s Creed Infinity interview with Côté. And for more from Ubisoft Forward, take a look at the reveal of Assassin’s Creed Mirage, the upcoming Codename Red and Hexe, and a mobile game set in Ancient China.

Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Features Editor.

Ubisoft has announced Assassin’s Creed Codename Jade, a new game in the series set in Ancient China. It features “classic” Assassin’s Creed gameplay and takes place in an open world, but is a mobile game rather than a console release.

Revealed as part of today's Assassin's Creed Showcase but in only a small amount of detail, Assassin’s Creed Codename Jade has been built to play like a traditional Assassin’s Creed game just with touch controls. Vice president executive producer of Assassin's Creed, Marc-Alexis Côté, promised that players will explore China in the year 215 BCE, and be able to not only parkour across the Great Wall of China, but also create their own assassin protagonist for the first time ever in the series.

No gameplay was shown, but an in-engine trailer did reveal what we can expect Codename Jade to look like, and it’s promising. In fact, it doesn’t look too far off a last-generation Assassin’s Creed game.

We also learned today about three new mobile games coming to Netflix's gaming platform from Ubisoft, including another (different) Assassin's Creed mobile game. The other two will be Valiant Hearts 2, and a sequel to The Mighty Quest. And of course, Ubisoft is still working on a live-action Assassin's Creed series with Netflix, too.

For more from Ubisoft Forward, take a look at all the new details about 2023’s Assassin’s Creed Mirage. You can catch up on everything announced at today's Ubisoft Forward event with our full roundup.

Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Features Editor.

Ubisoft has announced Assassin’s Creed Codename Jade, a new game in the series set in Ancient China. It features “classic” Assassin’s Creed gameplay and takes place in an open world, but is a mobile game rather than a console release.

Revealed as part of today's Assassin's Creed Showcase but in only a small amount of detail, Assassin’s Creed Codename Jade has been built to play like a traditional Assassin’s Creed game just with touch controls. Vice president executive producer of Assassin's Creed, Marc-Alexis Côté, promised that players will explore China in the year 215 BCE, and be able to not only parkour across the Great Wall of China, but also create their own assassin protagonist for the first time ever in the series.

No gameplay was shown, but an in-engine trailer did reveal what we can expect Codename Jade to look like, and it’s promising. In fact, it doesn’t look too far off a last-generation Assassin’s Creed game.

We also learned today about three new mobile games coming to Netflix's gaming platform from Ubisoft, including another (different) Assassin's Creed mobile game. The other two will be Valiant Hearts 2, and a sequel to The Mighty Quest. And of course, Ubisoft is still working on a live-action Assassin's Creed series with Netflix, too.

For more from Ubisoft Forward, take a look at all the new details about 2023’s Assassin’s Creed Mirage. You can catch up on everything announced at today's Ubisoft Forward event with our full roundup.

Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Features Editor.

Ubisoft has fully revealed Assassin's Creed Mirage, a new action-adventure game in the series focused on stealth and parkour.

Revealed as part of Ubisoft Forward's Assassin's Creed Showcase, Assassin's Creed Mirage casts you as Basim Ibn Ishaq and is set in the city of Baghdad, twenty years before the events of Assassin's Creed Valhalla. It is designed to be a modern take on the original gameplay template for the earlier Assassin's Creed games, with developer Ubisoft Bordeaux using the same three design pillars as the original game: stealth, parkour, and assassinations.

No gameplay was shown, but a CGI cinematic trailer focused on the rise of Basim from a simple street thief to a master assassin. He does so under the tutelage of Roshan, a Persian assassin played by Emmy award-winning actor Shohreh Aghdashloo. Narrative director Sarah Beaulieu said that we can expect the duo's story to involve numerous historical figures, including political leaders.

In an additional briefing shown to the press, Ubisoft Bordeaux revealed a number of additional details. Much like the early entries in the series, this is a city-set game, and Baghdad is split into four different districts. Beyond Baghdad we'll also visit Alamut, the fortress headquarters of the Hidden Ones.

The world has been designed with both parkour routes and stealth in mind, so expect plenty of pathways up to rooftops and hiding spots. A new, more granular detection system has been made to allow greater detail in stealth encounters. Ubisoft says you can also expect the return of some classic parkour moves, including the corner swing, and for the pace of freerunning to be faster than in the older games.

The move back to a more classic game template also means that the RPG structure of modern Assassin's Creed games has been removed; Mirage is described as a more linear game with a heavy focus on story. Like the original games, there will be stretches of linear mission chains, and then segments where you will be able to choose from a number of different available quests.

Some of those quests will be what Ubisoft call 'Black Box missions', which are the main assasination quests. Not many details were given, but it was said that they provide "opportunities to define the means and path to take down the next target." Perhaps they draw on AC Unity's assassination missions, which provided a number of different ways to infiltrate and area and kill a target?

While Assassin's Creed Mirage is certainly looking back to its roots, this modern take on those ideas does introduce a few new concepts. The eagle companion, first introduced in Assassin's Creed Origins, is back. Ubisoft say that using the bird's vision is helpful for identifying stealth routes, but to be aware of new archer enemies that can shoot your eagle out of the sky. Basim will also have acess to 'Assassin's Focus', an ability that slows down time and allows him to perform multiple assassinations at once. It sounds somewhat like Assassin's Creed's answer to Splinter Cell's Mark and Execute system.

Beyond these additions, it appears that Basim's kit is within the tradition of the series, including a blowdart, traps, and mines. He'll also be able to pull scaffolding down on enemies and other such contextual environmental kills.

Assassin's Creed Mirage will launch in 2023 on Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PS5, PS4, PC, and Amazon Luna. Three editions are planned; the $50 standard edition, $60 deluxe edition (which comes with "additional content"), and the $150 collector's case which includes the deluxe edition plus a 32cm statue of Basim, a replica of his brooch, a map and art book, a soundtrack, and a steelbook.

You can catch up on everything announced at today's Ubisoft Forward event with our full roundup.

Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Features Editor.

Ubisoft has fully revealed Assassin's Creed Mirage, a new action-adventure game in the series focused on stealth and parkour.

Revealed as part of Ubisoft Forward's Assassin's Creed Showcase, Assassin's Creed Mirage casts you as Basim Ibn Ishaq and is set in the city of Baghdad, twenty years before the events of Assassin's Creed Valhalla. It is designed to be a modern take on the original gameplay template for the earlier Assassin's Creed games, with developer Ubisoft Bordeaux using the same three design pillars as the original game: stealth, parkour, and assassinations.

No gameplay was shown, but a CGI cinematic trailer focused on the rise of Basim from a simple street thief to a master assassin. He does so under the tutelage of Roshan, a Persian assassin played by Emmy award-winning actor Shohreh Aghdashloo. Narrative director Sarah Beaulieu said that we can expect the duo's story to involve numerous historical figures, including political leaders.

In an additional briefing shown to the press, Ubisoft Bordeaux revealed a number of additional details. Much like the early entries in the series, this is a city-set game, and Baghdad is split into four different districts. Beyond Baghdad we'll also visit Alamut, the fortress headquarters of the Hidden Ones.

The world has been designed with both parkour routes and stealth in mind, so expect plenty of pathways up to rooftops and hiding spots. A new, more granular detection system has been made to allow greater detail in stealth encounters. Ubisoft says you can also expect the return of some classic parkour moves, including the corner swing, and for the pace of freerunning to be faster than in the older games.

The move back to a more classic game template also means that the RPG structure of modern Assassin's Creed games has been removed; Mirage is described as a more linear game with a heavy focus on story. Like the original games, there will be stretches of linear mission chains, and then segments where you will be able to choose from a number of different available quests.

Some of those quests will be what Ubisoft call 'Black Box missions', which are the main assasination quests. Not many details were given, but it was said that they provide "opportunities to define the means and path to take down the next target." Perhaps they draw on AC Unity's assassination missions, which provided a number of different ways to infiltrate and area and kill a target?

While Assassin's Creed Mirage is certainly looking back to its roots, this modern take on those ideas does introduce a few new concepts. The eagle companion, first introduced in Assassin's Creed Origins, is back. Ubisoft say that using the bird's vision is helpful for identifying stealth routes, but to be aware of new archer enemies that can shoot your eagle out of the sky. Basim will also have acess to 'Assassin's Focus', an ability that slows down time and allows him to perform multiple assassinations at once. It sounds somewhat like Assassin's Creed's answer to Splinter Cell's Mark and Execute system.

Beyond these additions, it appears that Basim's kit is within the tradition of the series, including a blowdart, traps, and mines. He'll also be able to pull scaffolding down on enemies and other such contextual environmental kills.

Assassin's Creed Mirage will launch in 2023 on Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PS5, PS4, PC, and Amazon Luna. Three editions are planned; the $50 standard edition, $60 deluxe edition (which comes with "additional content"), and the $150 collector's case which includes the deluxe edition plus a 32cm statue of Basim, a replica of his brooch, a map and art book, a soundtrack, and a steelbook.

You can catch up on everything announced at today's Ubisoft Forward event with our full roundup.

Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Features Editor.

Today at the D23 expo, the audience was treated to a handful of new clips from Avatar 2: The Way of Water, showing everything from the beautiful world to the new stakes in the world of Pandora.

Pandora’s beauty awaits.

Brand-new concept art has arrived for #AvatarTheWayOfWater, in theaters December 16. #D23Expo pic.twitter.com/dNAEqwhluz

— Disney (@Disney) September 10, 2022

The first scene was mostly showing off how gorgeous the world looks, with Na'vi diving into the water, alien fish swimming by, and Na'vi children playing with the fish.

The second scene took place in a lab featuring Sigourney Weaver's human form talking into a video diary. The Na'vi kids and one human kid are in the lab watching, asking who "knocked up" Weaver's character.

Next, the Na'vi were navigating a rainy forest at night. The Na'vi kids appeared to be captured by Na'vi wearing Earth soldier uniforms and holding guns while Na'vi wielding spears stalked them in the dark. The Na'vi used bird calls as signals as they worked to rescue the kids. A fight ensues, as one Na'vi warrior was shown shooting a Na'vi soldier in the eye with an arrow. Eventually, the kids use a smoke grenade to escape and run for cover.

The fourth scene shows the Na'vi back at home. The kids are eavesdropping as Sully and Neytiri argue. Sully wants them to leave, but Neytiri says they can't abandon their home.

The next scene showed Na'vi gathering at a tent over the ocean. Two new Na'vi criticized their daughter for bonding with an outcast.

And finally, the last scene showed a group of Na'vi wast-deep in the ocean. An ocean Na'vi introduced them to a stingray-like alien while feeding it fish. A group of Na'vi kids were shown riding the stingray creatures underwater.

The first teaser for the movie arrived this year, and it had an absolutely enormous first 24 hours online. Director James Camerion has been talking about Avatar 2 since 2010, and it was eventually announced that Avatar 2, 3, and 4 were all being developed simultaneously. As if that wasn't enough, there was also a script for a fifth film in the offing.

After many delays, Avatar 2 went into production last year and wrapped with Avatar 3 close to finishing shooting too. The sequels have cost $1 billion to produce.

You can catch up on everything announced during today's showcase in our full roundup.

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN covering video game and entertainment news. He has over six years of experience in the gaming industry with bylines at IGN, Nintendo Wire, Switch Player Magazine, and Lifewire. Find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.

Today at the D23 expo, the audience was treated to a handful of new clips from Avatar 2: The Way of Water, showing everything from the beautiful world to the new stakes in the world of Pandora.

Pandora’s beauty awaits.

Brand-new concept art has arrived for #AvatarTheWayOfWater, in theaters December 16. #D23Expo pic.twitter.com/dNAEqwhluz

— Disney (@Disney) September 10, 2022

The first scene was mostly showing off how gorgeous the world looks, with Na'vi diving into the water, alien fish swimming by, and Na'vi children playing with the fish.

The second scene took place in a lab featuring Sigourney Weaver's human form talking into a video diary. The Na'vi kids and one human kid are in the lab watching, asking who "knocked up" Weaver's character.

Next, the Na'vi were navigating a rainy forest at night. The Na'vi kids appeared to be captured by Na'vi wearing Earth soldier uniforms and holding guns while Na'vi wielding spears stalked them in the dark. The Na'vi used bird calls as signals as they worked to rescue the kids. A fight ensues, as one Na'vi warrior was shown shooting a Na'vi soldier in the eye with an arrow. Eventually, the kids use a smoke grenade to escape and run for cover.

The fourth scene shows the Na'vi back at home. The kids are eavesdropping as Sully and Neytiri argue. Sully wants them to leave, but Neytiri says they can't abandon their home.

The next scene showed Na'vi gathering at a tent over the ocean. Two new Na'vi criticized their daughter for bonding with an outcast.

And finally, the last scene showed a group of Na'vi wast-deep in the ocean. An ocean Na'vi introduced them to a stingray-like alien while feeding it fish. A group of Na'vi kids were shown riding the stingray creatures underwater.

The first teaser for the movie arrived this year, and it had an absolutely enormous first 24 hours online. Director James Camerion has been talking about Avatar 2 since 2010, and it was eventually announced that Avatar 2, 3, and 4 were all being developed simultaneously. As if that wasn't enough, there was also a script for a fifth film in the offing.

After many delays, Avatar 2 went into production last year and wrapped with Avatar 3 close to finishing shooting too. The sequels have cost $1 billion to produce.

You can catch up on everything announced during today's showcase in our full roundup.

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN covering video game and entertainment news. He has over six years of experience in the gaming industry with bylines at IGN, Nintendo Wire, Switch Player Magazine, and Lifewire. Find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.

The annual entry in the Just Dance franchise has just been revealed - and it's got one heck of a shiny new look.

Revealed at Ubisoft Forward 2022, Just Dance 2023 is planned for release this holiday for Xbox Series X and S, PS5, and Nintendo Switch. It will include a brand new "dance on demand" platform, as well as new online multiplayer features and a redesigned interface.

Like past Just Dance games, it will also receive a slate of free regular content updates in seasonal updates, all of which will appear in the new Netflix-style user interface, through which players can browse new music, see what's popular and recommended, and more.

The game's multiplayer mode lets up to six players dance together from around the world, with up to two able to join per console.

Just Dance has been a wildly popular, long-running Ubisoft franchise since 2009, with releases across just about every single available platform annually and an especially long and surprising history on the Wii and Wii U, having continued releasing on both long after no other titles were planned for the consoles (though it's since stopped on both).

Just Dance has historically been announced at Ubisoft's E3 press conference with massive on-stage dance numbers, though that tradition has waned throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

You can catch up on everything announced at today's Ubisoft Forward event with our full roundup.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

The annual entry in the Just Dance franchise has just been revealed - and it's got one heck of a shiny new look.

Revealed at Ubisoft Forward 2022, Just Dance 2023 is planned for release this holiday for Xbox Series X and S, PS5, and Nintendo Switch. It will include a brand new "dance on demand" platform, as well as new online multiplayer features and a redesigned interface.

Like past Just Dance games, it will also receive a slate of free regular content updates in seasonal updates, all of which will appear in the new Netflix-style user interface, through which players can browse new music, see what's popular and recommended, and more.

The game's multiplayer mode lets up to six players dance together from around the world, with up to two able to join per console.

Just Dance has been a wildly popular, long-running Ubisoft franchise since 2009, with releases across just about every single available platform annually and an especially long and surprising history on the Wii and Wii U, having continued releasing on both long after no other titles were planned for the consoles (though it's since stopped on both).

Just Dance has historically been announced at Ubisoft's E3 press conference with massive on-stage dance numbers, though that tradition has waned throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

You can catch up on everything announced at today's Ubisoft Forward event with our full roundup.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Ubisoft's Trackmania is on its way to consoles at last in early 2023, and it will include cross-play and cross-progression with its existing PC rendition.

Announced at Ubisoft Forward 2022, we learned that Trackmania will be coming to Xbox Series X and S, Xbox One, PS5, PS4, Google Stadia, and Amazon Luna early next year. It'll be day one on Ubisoft+.

It's still the same Trackmania we've been playing on PC for a few years now, shiny cars and all. It's free to play without microtransactions, but it does have, well, macrotransactions in that there are two major premium purchases that gate large quantities of the game.

We reviewed Trackmania on PC back in 2020, saying that its "mechanically nuanced time trials are as tense and addictive in 2020 as they were in 2006" but that its robust content selection being gated by payments might harm the longevity of the free-to-play game. It has received regular updates since that release, including a matchmaking gameplay mode and a "Royal" mode.

You can catch up on everything announced at today's Ubisoft Forward event with our full roundup.