Assassin's Creed Baghdad game now due 2023 - report

Ubisoft is now reportedly targeting a 2023 release window for its next Assassin's Creed game, which is expected to be a smaller, stealth-focused edition of the series.

Codenamed Rift (though likely not its final title), this is the Baghdad-focused project which originally began life as a Valhalla expansion. It has since grown its own fully-fledged project, albeit tighter in scope than other recent, sprawling Assassin's Creed entries.

Originally reported to arrive later this year (though still to be officially announced by Ubisoft itself), Bloomberg has now stated that Rift will arrive in either May or June 2023.

Last week, Ubisoft delayed Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora to a vague "2023-4" window and mentioned another project had also been pushed back internally. This project is thought to be Rift, which is being made by Ubisoft Bordeaux.

The existence of Rift was originally reported by Bloomberg earlier this year, which stated it would feature Valhalla character Basim in a leading role. At the time, Eurogamer corroborated this and noted the game's focus would include Baghdad - a detail Bloomberg has also now reported.

Rift will likely be officially announced by Ubisoft in September, during an event it has said will unveil the future of the Assassin's Creed series.

It's here we may also get an update on Assassin's Creed Infinity, Ubisoft's further-off project which will act as a platform for future Assassin's Creed games, developed by the franchise's core teams within Ubisoft Montreal and Quebec. Rumours are currently swirling on where the first of these games may be set, with whispers around the internet currently pointing to Japan.