Assassin’s Creed Valhalla’s Last DLC Sets Up The Next Game
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla has received extensive support from its developer and publisher, Ubisoft — perhaps more than any game the company has ever made. This isn’t surprising, Assassin’s Creed franchise is Ubisoft’s main profit driver, and Valhalla is the franchise’s crown jewel before it returns to its roots with the upcoming Mirage. However, what is surprising is that the final DLC for Assassin’s Creed Valhalla dropped one week earlier than originally scheduled, revealing parts of the narrative that set up the next game in the series.
According to Polygon, the final DLC for Assassin’s Creed Valhalla was supposed to launch on December 6. Still, due to an “unforeseen glitch in the Animus” — as stated by Ubisoft — the content dropped one week prior. This is quite an interesting turn of events, we rarely get working content before the due date, and if we, the gamers, have learned anything for the past couple of years, it’s that the games tend to release unfinished, even after extensive delays. Well, the new update for Valhalla works like a charm and introduces the elements key to the series’ next game and, quite possibly, future games as well.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla patch 1.6.2 also introduced an announced set of extra missions called “Shared History.” Given the main trope of the gaming series, the name alone is enough to pique the player’s interest. Most notably, the content introduces Roshan, a character that’s set to appear in the upcoming Assassin’s Creed Mirage, scheduled to release in 2023, after Ubisoft decided to return the franchise to its roots and reduce the size, but increase the quantity of future Assassin’s Creed releases.
This is quite interesting because the fandom’s consensus is that, while the recent games have taken the series in an interesting direction, they’ve distanced themselves from the gameplay and storytelling set by the best game of the series more than a decade ago. So instead, the upcoming Mirage is sort of a soft reboot that plays well with the previous narrative but takes a step back in history, focusing primarily on Basim, a mentor to Assassin’s Creed Valhalla’s protagonist, Eivor.
As it turns out, the last DLC, titled The Final Chapter, along with Shared History, is more than just a set of final adventures for Eivor. Instead, they’re shifting the focus to Basim and introducing Roshan as Basim’s mentor. Given that the upcoming game focuses solely on Basim as a younger assassin, Roshan is most likely the female assassin mentoring Basim, as we’ve seen in the trailer for the upcoming Assassin’s Creed Mirage.
Assassin’s Creed Mirage is scheduled to release sometime in 2023, but fans are concerned that Ubisoft hasn’t provided an exact launch window. However, it’s very unlikely that the game will suffer the same fate as the previously mentioned Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake — a spiritual predecessor of Assassin’s Creed — given its profit-driver status within the company.
Here’s something to think about, and please keep in mind that this is purely speculation on our part. Those acquainted with the history of the Assassin’s Creed franchise know that the first game stemmed from an attempt to make a Prince of Persia sequel. So isn’t it interesting that the Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time was postponed indefinitely months before Ubisoft announced Assassin’s Creed Mirage — a game that’s obviously set in a Persian-like setting?
With that said, it would be interesting to meet Roshan in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla; the next game might focus more on Basim, but it will inevitably put more spotlight on the lady assassin. This could potentially lead to a sequel game focusing solely on her.
