There are several ways the existence of a game can leak before any sort of official announcement. Retail leaks are not only one of the most common ways, but they’re also the most reliable, especially when a retailer lists an unannounced product in their catalog. They don’t just do that on a whim.
That’s what just happened with GameStop Italy. The Italian branch of the popular gaming retailer posted a listing for Assassin’s Creed: Ragnarok – Mjolnir Edition for Xbox One. They promptly deleted it, which is to be expected, but it was immortalized in a screenshot and posted to social media, which is also to be expected. Of course, this is all assuming that the screenshot is legitimate.
Leaked information is rarely a revelation, especially when it comes to retailers jumping the gun on listings. Products don’t get that far along in their development cycle without little bits of info spilling out. It’s usually rumors and speculation for a long while, and then something like this acts as an unofficial confirmation. So, while this is not Ubisoft officially announcing the next Assassin’s Creed, it’s near-definite proof of its existence, if the screenshot isn’t fake.
The Viking setting for Ragnarok was first hinted at via in-game content in Ubisoft’s The Division 2 (seen in the video above). Since then, smaller leaks have been popping up here and there, forming a bigger picture. It was easy to speculate, because there isn’t a whole lot of historical ground the Assassin’s Creed franchise hasn’t covered, and venturing into Viking territory would be something completely new for the franchise.
2017’s Assassin’s Creed: Origins and 2018’s Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey both released to some of the highest praise the series has garnered, and then 2019 didn’t see a new entry at all. Now we’re looking at the newest main series title likely releasing this year, the same year that both Sony and Microsoft are dropping their next-generation consoles.
Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag released within a few months of both the Playstation 4 and Xbox One, and as a result saw ports on both current-gen and last-gen consoles. Ragnarok will probably follow the same pattern, releasing on the Playstation 4 and Xbox One, while also being a launch title for the Playstation 5 and the Xbox Series X.
Still, this is all speculation, even the screenshot of the GameStop Italy website. That doesn’t mean it isn’t true, as the rumors all seem to point that way, and we’ll likely know for certain soon enough.
