Assassin's Creed Origins: Title, story details and naval combat rumoured for 2017 title

After a year off, Ubisoft is planning the return of its smash-hit Assassin's Creed series in 2017, according to a new report that also potentially reveals the new game's title and the first details regarding its plot and gameplay.

According to WWG's sources, the game is called Assassin's Creed Origins and will be revealed at the E3 trade show in June. The title reportedly refers to a story set in ancient Egypt that will deal with the very first assassin's guild.

Origins will also star two protagonists – a man and a woman – according to the report, and will feature naval combat for the first time in the series since Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag and previous-gen follow-up Assassin's Creed Rogue.

In March 2016 Ubisoft confirmed reports that the once-annualised series would be skipping its 2016 release so the developers could "step back and re-examine" the series.

According to WWG's report, this will mean a "less linear" game with "more freedom" and a "greater emphasis on exploration over previous entries". It's also said that Origins will feature "a character progression system less tied to the story".

One source compared the new game to Bethesda's beloved open world RPG Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim.

Egypt won't be the only in-game locale according to the report, which offers a brief description of an internal video which includes scenes from Egypt as well as World War 2-era France, an unidentified Asian country and, as would be tradition, a modern day facility belonging to the fictional Abstergo Industries.

In January 2016, shortly before Ubisoft confirmed the series would be taking a break, Kotaku reported that the next game would be set in ancient Egypt and was codenamed Assassin's Creed Empire.

Assassin's Creed took a much-needed break at a time when franchise fatigue was undoubtedly setting in for both the developers and fans. That said, 2015's Assassin's Creed Syndicate – the last game in the series – was well-received at launch.

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