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Assassin's Creed Syndicate Will Bring Back Present-Day and Make Sense of the Story, Says Ubisoft

Creative director explains the transition to a new story arc and promises fans won't be disappointed.

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Ubisoft has said it will be bringing back the modern-era gameplay for Assassin's Creed Syndicate and promised fans it will "make sense" of the ongoing conflict between the Assassins and Templars.

In an exclusive interview with GameSpot Marc-Alexis Cote, Assassin's Creed Syndicate's creative director, was asked whether the series' narrative, which was talked up as having a pre-determined path, was still going somewhere following the conclusion of Desmond's arc.

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"The Assassin's Creed series story is still going somewhere, absolutely," he replied. "The overarching story is divided up into cycles. So we had what we called the Desmond cycle, which ended with AC3. Black Flag was the transition point between the Desmond cycle and the new cycle."

According to Cote, the games following Assassin's Creed 3, namely Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag and Assassin's Creed Unity, were a transitionary period leading into the new narrative arc, which Assassin's Creed Syndicate will pick up.

"[Assassin's Creed 3] was the end of the Desmond cycle. And then we started up the new cycle, which I think will become much clearer with Assassin’s Creed Syndicate, without spoiling it," he explained.

Cote went on to say Assassin's Creed Syndicate will once again give weight to the conflict between the series' two warring factions and meaning to the struggle for control over modern society.

"I can’t go into details about the present-day story, other than to say it is coming back, it is going to make sense for our players, and they’re going to understand the conflict between the Assassins and the Templars."

He added: "One of the things that’s been super important for me and for the team is to make sure the player feels in the present-day story that he or she has importance."

Ubisoft has confirmed the Assassin's Creed Syndicate release date as October 23. The game will be available for Xbox One and PlayStation 4, with a PC version to follow later. It will not be released for Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3, as Ubisoft is leaving those systems behind.

Read about how the history of the series is helping chart the future, trying to recapture the fandom of Ezio Auditore, having a female protagonist, and more in our full Assassin's Creed Syndicate interview here.

Take a look closer at Assassin's Creed Syndicate in the screenshot gallery below.

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