Existence of Assassin’s Creed: Origins Leaked Via New Image, Reports

After our first year without a full-fledged Assassin’s Creed game since 2009, and 10 years after the release of the first game, it seems Ubisoft is going back to the beginning with Assassin’s Creed: Origins.

While reports, leaks and alleged screenshots of Assassin’s Creed: Empire have been popping up since early 2016, it seems today’s leak via Reddit by user “shoutouttoashraf” (it’s important to note that Ashraf Ismail was the creative director for Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag) has legitimized many of them.

Last week, WWG reported that Empire is now dubbed Origins, and that the game is due for an E3 reveal and a fall 2017 release, and it will include naval combat. Eurogamer’s apparent confirmation not only suggests that this is all true, but that the thinly sourced info has been right all along, and that the game will indeed be an ancient Egypt-set series prequel. After all, it likely isn’t a coincidence that the franchise’s rumored return to naval combat is being handled mainly by Ubisoft Montreal, the studio behind most of 2014’s Black Flag.

The boat-centric screenshot shows off a similar shield and character model to those found in previous alleged leaks, and includes a visible mission objective of “Assassinate the Crocodile.” WWG’s report says players will be free to sail the Mediterranean Sea and even travel to Greece. Here’s what the outlet said about an internal teaser for Origins at Ubisoft:

It apparently began by showing scenes of Egypt, before transitioning between different periods and locations throughout history, including an Asian country, WW2 era France, and a modern day Abstergo Industries facility. It isn’t yet clear whether this video, a blend of gameplay footage and CGI, will be shown to the public in its current form.

It looks like the rest of us will have to wait until next month’s E3 to get an official look at the game, which is said to feature much more open-ended progression and narrative, which would certainly be a bold new step for Ubisoft. Be sure to stay tuned to Paste for more on Assassin’s Creed: Origins when it’s likely revealed in June.