Assassin’s Creed Codename Red release date, story, everything we know

Assassin’s Creed Codename Red was first announced at Ubisoft Forward in 2022, and while we don’t have much information regarding its release almost a year later, that hasn’t stopped it from becoming one of the most anticipated upcoming games still. Taking place in one of the most long-awaited and asked-for settings by fans, if you’re a fan of the Assassin’s Creed franchise, this is a game worth keeping an eye on. 

There’s still a lot to learn about how Codename Red plans to become one of the best Assassin’s Creed games, and with no in-game content to show for it, there’s not a huge amount to go off. But, even with just a single thirty-second reveal trailer, there’s still plenty of information to unpack about what could be in-store. Here’s everything we know so far. 

Assassin’s Creed Codename Red – cut to the chase 

• What is it? The next step in open-world RPG Assassin’s Creed games 
• When does it come out? TBA 
• What can I play it on? TBA 
• Who’s making it? Ubisoft 

Assassin’s Creed Codename Red release date and platforms

The release date for Assassin’s Creed Codename Red is yet to be announced, though there are rumors of a potential very late 2024, possibly 2025 release date. With Assassin’s Creed Mirage and Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR also gearing up for a release later this year, and Assassin’s Creed Codename Jade in the works, it could be a while before we see more information about Codename Red. 

That said, in a LinkedIn post from a member of Ubisoft’s business development team which was then shared to Twitter heavily hinted toward a 2024 release date. The post was published to gauge the interest of potential sponsors for the game, but toward the end, the phrase “do you want to be a part of the biggest blockbuster of 2024?” heavily implies that we could see Codename Red before the end of next year, but nothing has been confirmed. The full post and Tweet can be seen below. 

However, even though we don’t have a confirmed release date, we do have an idea about which platforms the game will be available on. Assassin’s Creed Mirage has been confirmed to be the final cross-generation Assassin’s Creed game, meaning Codename Red will mark the start of a new beginning for the franchise exclusively on current-gen consoles, meaning we expect the title to launch on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and potentially PC. 

As reported by VGC, Marc-Alexis Cote, the Vice President and Executive Producer of the Assassin’s Creed franchise stated that “we wanted to mark a change technologically and gameplay-wise as we’re moving to a fully next-gen, or current-gen, with the PS5 and Xbox Series X.” 

With both current-gen platforms boasting a number of fantastic titles now, there’s some pretty tough competition, but we believe Codename Red has the potential to become one of the best Xbox Series X games and one of the best PS5 games once it is finally released. 

Assassin’s Creed Codename Red trailers

We’ve received a single trailer for Assassin’s Creed Codename Red so far, and it doesn’t give us much information about the in-game content to expect, aside from revealing the long-awaited setting of Japan. 

We also see what we assume to be the central playable character atop a building before they unsheathe their hidden blade and a large cloud of black smoke comes in to end the trailer. We receive the name “Assassin’s Creed Codename Red” but no information regarding a release date or any potential platforms. The full reveal trailer can be seen below:

The community has done its best to breakdown the trailer and pick out bits of information that could reveal more on the setting or protagonist. However given how short it was and how ’empty’ it was there’s not been too much and we would still take it all with a pinch of salt.

Some notable interrogations include the buildings in the background having stone bases indicating that it could take place in the 16th century Sengoku period when that building technique was at its height, and the protagonist having items such as a grappling hook, and kunai blades attached to their person too. 

Assassin’s Creed Codename Red story and setting

Despite the reveal trailer being incredibly short, Assassin’s Creed Codename Red will take place in Ancient Japan. We haven’t received much information about what to expect from the location, but as we crawl closer to a more reasonable release window, we are bound to find out a little more about what to expect from the location of our newest adventure into Assassin’s Creed.

Venturing into Japan will be a franchise first and given the detailed environments and locations we’ve already experienced, there’s a lot to expect from feudal Japan. Ubisoft has announced that Assassin’s Creed Codename Red will be the “future of our open-world RPG games.” So we expect a lot of exploration and an incredibly interactive environment to set the scene for the next installment. 

The story is yet to unfold, but with Japan being one of the most anticipated environments, there’s a strong chance that Codename Red could become one of the best Assassin’s Creed games yet, depending on how the game plays out. Marc-Alexis Cote also stated that Codename Red is “pushing to have a more dynamic world, a world that evolves around you and we want everything that you have on yourself to evolve as you walk through this environment.” (Thanks, VGC.) 

Assassin’s Creed Codename Red gameplay

Any Assassin’s Creed Codename Red in-game action is yet to be showcased, so a lot of what we currently know about the content of the game is based upon quite vague announcements and the short reveal trailer we have received.

But we aren’t completely blind to everything. Between announcements and statements from the team, alongside announcements from Ubisoft, we are starting to pull together pieces of information about the content of the game so we know vaguely what to expect and how it plans to step up from previous games. 

Codename Red will open the doors to a “powerful shinobi fantasy” for players. Even though we haven’t seen any in-game content, we can expect from this statement alone that there will be a huge emphasis on stealth missions and infiltration, even more so than in previous Assassin’s Creed games. 

Going off the short, 30-second reveal trailer, we can see that the assumed playable character continues the tradition of having a hidden blade, which gives a very slight hint into what we can expect from combat. In addition to this, the Shinobi also has a sort of short sword, which we believe to be the signature weapon of the character. 

However, a number of rumors surrounding the game suggest that a shinobi won’t be the only playable character within the title, and instead, you’ll be able to also play as a Samurai, according to Insider Gaming. How exactly you’ll be able to switch between these or whether they will have blocked out sections of the storyline is currently unknown. 

As we creep closer to a possible Assassin’s Creed Codename Red release date, we expect more information regarding the content of the game, alongside some spotlights on the new assassin and potentially a highlight on any combat, to be released, but for now, we are left to speculate. 

Assassin’s Creed Codename Red news

Assassin’s Creed Codename Red has been described as the “biggest blockbuster of 2024”
Following its initial announcement at Ubisoft Forward 2022, the business development and brand partnership teams at Ubisoft posted on LinkedIn looking for sponsors for Red and referring to it as the “biggest blockbuster of 2024.” Although a release date hasn’t been confirmed yet, this heavily hints that it might be rolling around sooner than we realise. The full post which was translated from Japanese was then shared to Twitter by user @AccessTheAnimus.

Assassin’s Creed Codename Red trailer shown at Ubisoft Forward, 2022
The first look at Assassin’s Creed Codename Red was shown as part of Ubisoft Forward in 2022, but the thirty-second reveal didn’t offer a huge amount of information. Despite confirming the location of the game, and offering a looking at who we have assumed to be the assassin, we didn’t receive any sort of release window or platform information.  

If you’re looking for alternative high-stakes adventures to tide you over until the release of Assassin’s Creed Codename Red, you might want to check out the Clockwork Revolution release date. But, if you’re looking for another well-loved franchise to sink your time into, the Star Wars Outlaws release date might be more your speed.