Rumors suggest Ubisoft prioritizing Assassin's Creed Red led to cancelation of Immortals Fenyx Rising sequel

A few days ago, it was claimed that a sequel to 2020's Immortals Fenyx Rising was shelved by developer Ubisoft Quebec. Now, new reports suggest this was doen to shift focus to a more prominent game that is confirmed to be in the works: Assassins's Creed Codename Red (further shortened to Assassins' Creed Red here onwards).

Insider Stephen Totilo claims Ubisoft wants Assassin's Creed Red to be done as fast as possible, which is why Immortals Fenyx Rising was canceled. Video Game Chronicle (VGC) reached out to the publisher, who refused to comment on the exact status of the now-canceled project. Here's the gist of what it had to say.

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What is the deal with a rumored Immortals Fenyx Rising successor?

The Immortals Fenyx Rising successor was reported to be based on Polynesian myths, and development was coming along fine as reported by several insiders. Now it seems like priorities have shifted. To top it off, an official statement from Ubisoft also offers new insight on this claim:

"As part of our global strategy, we are redirecting and reallocating some creative teams and resources within the Quebec studio to other unannounced projects."

Its Quebec studio was suggested to be handling the Immortals Fenyx Riisng succesor, codenamed Oxygen. However, it is also working on Assassin's Creed Red. Connecting these two instances together paints a clear picture that the iconic open-world stealth series is clearly a higher priority.

Immortals Fenyx Rising is one of Ubisoft's most interetsing new IPs in recent years (Image via Ubisoft)

This is accurate as Assassin's Creed has always been one of the French publisher's most revered franchises. Since it continues to see success even after over two dozen entries, it is no surprise that Ubisoft's bread and butter series gets the special treatment. The publisher has also claimed that its game sales have not been up to expectations over the past year.

Therefore, it understandably intends to double down on effort in the series, with offerings like Infinity, Hexe, and more. Is this the end for Immortals Fenyx Rising as a franchise? Perhaps. It is likely we could see something in the future, but things remain uncertain for now.

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What is Assassin's Creed Codename Red about?

It is one among a slew of working and official Assassin's Creed titles revealed by the publisher during last year's Ubisoft Forward showcase. This entry in particular features a setting that has been clamored for by fans of the series for a while now: Japan. As per reports, it is set to feature a samurai and shinobi protagonist - likely in the same vein as Kassandra and Alexios from Assassin's Creed Odyssey.

There is no word on release date and platforms yet, but fans should not expect to hear anything about it until 2024 or 2025 since it has just picked up development.