When asked by another forum poster why Ubisoft might be “holding the Black Flag remake back” and whether the game is ready, Shinobi602 responded by posting that they “wouldn’t say they’re ‘holding it back’. There’s a reveal and release set, it’s just not time yet. Not too far off.”

The start of the year has seen plenty of rumors about the Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag remake, with a noteworthy one surrounding a supposed figurine based on the upcoming title being spotted on an online marketplace. The figurine was of protagonist Edward Kenway seated on the ship’s helm, with a black flag sporting the game’s logo swaying behind him. While not too many details could be ascertained from this figurine, Ubisoft decided to get in on it with a joke.

In a wordless response on social media, the Assassin’s Creed account posted a joke image of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas protagonist CJ at the start of the game saying “Ah, s***, here we go again.”

The remake is reportedly titled Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced, and was rumored to be originally slated for a March 19 release. However, plans have seemingly changed since then, with recent reports indicating that it has been delayed to 2027.

As for the upcoming State of Play, Sony hasn’t officially confirmed it so far, but it is expected to take place on February 12. The date was revealed thanks to an errant retweet by senior product development director Mihir Sheth of last year’s State of Play announcement. While this is still far from a confirmation, Sheth could have retweeted the post believing it to be part of the marketing for the upcoming showcase.

In the meantime, Death Stranding 2: On the Beach director Hideo Kojima has also returned to the editing bay. While he hasn’t offered any further details beyond noting that this is the first time he is editing a video in 8 months, the timing of his post indicates that he is working on some sort of trailer for the State of Play event.

Since Kojima has previously said that he isn’t interested in working on DLC for Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, preferring instead to release smaller updates for the game, the trailer might be an official announcement for the PC port. Such a port coming out a full year after the original release would fall in line with the original Death Stranding as well, which came out on PS4 in 2019, before eventually making the jump to PC in 2020.

The response is obviously a tongue-in-cheek one, and doesn’t really reveal much. However, the fact that the company isn’t outright denying any of the rumours might indicate that it is simply playing along to add marketing hype to the inevitable announcement of the Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag remake.

The figurine was first spotted by Twitter user j0nathan, who quickly posted about it on social media. “A guy on Vinted is selling a completely new Edward Kenway figurine and claims it would be released this year,” they wrote (via machine translation). “Knowing that the Black Flag remake was supposed to come out in less than 2 months, could this be the official figurine from the game?”

Ubisoft’s own post was in response to Assassin’s Creed fan account Zephryss, who wrote “This might be the new Edward Kenway figurine for the Assassin’s Creed Black Flag remake. A guy on Vinted is selling a brand new Edward Kenway figurine and claims it’s releasing this year,” alongside pictures of the figurine.

As we reported earlier this week, the pictures didn’t really reveal anything about who might have made the figurine. However, considering comments from last year, licensed merchandise maker Play Arts might have some involvement with it.

A couple of hosts during a Play Arts livestream indicated that a remake of Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag might be in the works. While they didn’t reveal many details, they noted that “something is going on with Edward”.

“Assassin’s Creed fans out there, you should be aware that there is something going on with Edward [Keyway]”, said one host in response to the live chat asking about new Black Flag figures. The other host quickly chimed in by asking “wait has that been announced?”

“I think so, I’m pretty sure I saw rumors about it. No, I definitely saw an article about it”, responded the first host, who would go on to note that, “there’s going to be something going on with Edward, and our PVC 1/8th scale statue will reflect that accordingly.”

The remake of Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag—believed to be titled Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced—was originally rumoured for release on March 19. However, plans have seemingly changed, with a recent report saying it has been pushed back to next year. While reasons behind this delay are unknown, the source of the report believes it could simply be a matter of the developers needing more time to polish it up.

Rumours have also been fuelled thanks to music from Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag getting reuploaded onto the Ubisoft Music YouTube channel. However, considering Ubisoft’s recent corporate overhaul, the remake might have been one of the titles affected by delays.

J0nathan also noted that the figurine was a “completely new” one, which might indicate that it was produced relatively recently. Unfortunately, however, pictures of the figurine, while still maintaining Edward Kenway’s general cool-ness, don’t really reveal any details about which company might have made it.

“A guy on Vinted is selling a completely new Edward Kenway figurine and claims it would be released this year,” wrote j0nathan. “Knowing that the Black Flag remake was supposed to come out in less than 2 months, could this be the official figurine from the game?”

There is a chance that Play Arts—a company that works on similar officially-licensed products for franchises like Assassin’s Creed—designed this figurine. The company was spotted last June having inadvertently leaked that a Black Flag remake might be coming sooner than we had thought. While it didn’t reveal too many details, two hosts of a livestream by the company had said that “something is going on with Edward.”

“Assassin’s Creed fans out there, you should be aware that there is something going on with Edward [Keyway]”, said one of them when asked by their chat about why they weren’t showcasing a figure based on the Black Flag protagonist. They were interrupted by the other saying “wait has that been announced?”

“I think so, I’m pretty sure I saw rumors about it. No, I definitely saw an article about it”, responded the first host. The livestream would then continue before the host once again revealed: “So there’s going to be something going on with Edward, and our PVC 1/8th scale statue will reflect that accordingly.”

Going back to j0nathan’s post, they noted that this figurine could be related to the remake that was “supposed to come out in less than 2 months.” However, recent reports have indicated that it has actually been delayed to 2027 after having been originally slated for release on March 19.

The move might have been part of Ubisoft’s larger corporate restructuring which saw the cancellation of several projects, including Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake. Before this delay, however, the report indicates that Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced—as it is believed to be named—was going to go gold early in February. Insider Gaming’s Tom Henderson posited that “it could have been full of bugs, which is why they have delayed it.”

Curiously, Ubisoft had also recently re-uploaded 18 tracks from the soundtrack of Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag onto its Ubisoft Music channel. Through a community post, the company explained that “we encountered some technical issues with a few of our videos, which we had to reupload.”

Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced is believed to be in development for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. The original came out on PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch.

Shortly afterwards, Ubisoft made a community post on the YouTube channel explaining its decision to reupload the music. Rather than outright announcing anything, the company instead cited technical issues as being the main reason behind the music, which apparently forced a reupload.

“Hi there music lovers! We encountered some technical issues with a few of our videos, which we had to reupload. Apologies for the trouble, and hope you enjoy the music,” wrote the company.

While many of the replies to this community post took Ubisoft’s statement at face value, others have questioned the company’s true motives behind the reuploads. “We don’t believe you! Coincidence releasing Black Flag music? I think not,” posted one user.

Rumours about a remaster of Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag have been going around for quite some time. Things started heating up over the last year thanks to ambiguous statements made by people seemingly connected to the project, including the voice actor of protagonist Edward Kenway, Matt Ryan. Interacting with a fan during a convention, Ryan asked them when they had beaten the game. On hearing that they did so “a while ago,” Ryan told the fan that they “may have to beat it again,” before going on to note that “there’s a reason I say that but I can’t say anything.”

December saw rumours of the remaster heat up even further, with a title dubbed Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced getting rated through Europe’s video game content rating body PEGI. The rating listed Ubisoft EMEA as the game’s publisher, and rated the title at PEGI 18 thanks to its inclusion of Violence and Bad Language, along with in-game purchases.

Earlier this month, a domain registered to Ubisoft for Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced was spotted. It had been registered back in December through GANDI SAS, who has previously registered domains for various Ubisoft franchises, including Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry and Splinter Cell. The registration of this domain indicates that an official announcement will likely be made soon.

Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag, and its upcoming remaster, focuses on the story of Edward Kenway and how he stumbled his way into becoming a bonafide Assassin after frequent meddling
into the affairs of the Templars for his own profit. The title takes place during the Golden Age of Piracy, and as such, has quite a bit of focus on the exploration of remote islands, ship customisation, and naval combat.

For more details about what Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced might include, check out reports of how it won’t feature modern-day sections, and will make use of weather effects while also featuring an improved world map. Also check out our thoughts on what made Black Flag such a special game.

While the Violence and Bad Language ensure the PEGI 18 rating is justified, it’s worth noting the inclusion of In-Game Purchases. The original offered resource packs and Elite Plans to Edward Kenway’s ship, the Jackdaw, for real money. Whether Ubisoft will stick with the same or introduce more egregious microtransactions, as seen with recent titles (including the Assassin’s Creed Shadows X Attack on Titan crossover, which was heavily panned).

Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced hasn’t been officially announced by Ubisoft, but rumors have run wild for years now. Even Edward’s voice actor, Matt Ryan, teased it and was threatened with a lawsuit in return. With an alleged launch by March 31st, 2026, the remake could very well be at The Game Awards. For more details on what’s potentially changing, head here.

Along with this, the remake will also reportedly feature more content in the form of new quests and other activities. There will also be a few modernisation touches being made to the title, including the removal of loading screens when moving from your ship to land, as well as the addition of content that was originally removed from the game back when it first came out in 2013. The report also indicates that the remake is slated for release in the first half of 2026, with March being a prominent candidate.

As has often been the case with reports and rumours like this, it is worth taking them with a grain of salt, since Ubisoft is yet to even officially acknowledge that it is working on a remake of Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag. However, reports of a remake being in development have been flying around for quite some time now, going as far back as 2023. According to those reports, the remake is expected to be a ground-up remake being developed using a current version of Ubisoft’s in-house Anvil engine, rather than simply being a remaster.

More recent reports of the rumoured remake started coming around thanks to artists from officially-licensed merchandise maker Play Arts off-handedly mentioning that “something is going on with Edward” during a livestream.

“Assassin’s Creed fans out there, you should be aware that there is something going on with Edward [Keyway]”, said one host when asked about why they weren’t showcasing a figure based on Black Flag protagonist Edward Kenway. The artist was interrupted by another one saying “wait has that been announced?”

“I think so, I’m pretty sure I saw rumors about it. No, I definitely saw at article about it”, responded the first artist. Later on, the first artist also said, “So there’s going to be something going on with Edward, and our PVC 1/8th scale statue will reflect that accordingly.”

These rumours were further strengthened by a comment by Edward Kenway’s voice actor, Matt Ryan, who was caught on video mentioning to a fan that they might get the chance to re-experience Black Flag soon. While signing an autograph, Ryan had asked the fan if they had beaten Black Flag, to which the fan replied by saying “yeah, a while ago.” This prompted Ryan to respond by saying that they “may have to beat it again.”

Back in July, some changes to the Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag database entry on Steam were caught, courtesy of SteamDB, with new features seemingly added to the title.

https://youtu.be/qngrBQnukFc

Responding to a fan question about whether or not there was a remaster or remake of Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag coming out, Ryan simply responded by saying, “I don’t know, mate.” He went on to explain that he had made his previous statements without realising that he was being secretly recorded, and that Ubisoft didn’t take kindly to this act.

“Well, the thing is that when it happened, someone was doing this [secretly filming Ryan] and I was being very free and open,” he explained. “But I didn’t know that they actually were recording me on their phone. Then the company [presumably Ubisoft] threatened to sue me. Yeah, so I say nothing.“

Back in June, Ryan had been recorded while signing an autograph asking a fan whether they had beaten Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag. When the fan responded by saying “yeah, a while ago,” Ryan then said that they “may have to beat it again.” He went on to say that “there’s a reason I say that but I can’t say anything,” which would indicate that a revival of Black Flag might be in the works. This recent revelation of a lawsuit threat would also indicate that Ryan has signed some kind of non-disclosure agreement (NDA) with Ubisoft.

Rumours about a remake or remaster of Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag have been popping up quite a bit in the last couple of months. Back in early June, artists from merchandise maker Play Arts had said during a livestream that “something is going on with Edward”. For context, Play Arts makes officially-licensed merchandise for a number of various IPs, including the Assassin’s Creed franchise.

“Assassin’s Creed fans out there, you should be aware that there is something going on with Edward [Keyway]”, said one host when asked about why they weren’t showcasing a figure based on Black Flag protagonist Edward Kenway. The artist was interrupted by another one saying “wait has that been announced?”

“I think so, I’m pretty sure I saw rumors about it. No, I definitely saw an article about it”, responded the first artist. Later on, the first artist also said, “So there’s going to be something going on with Edward, and our PVC 1/8th scale statue will reflect that accordingly.”

Ubisoft itself is yet to make any real announcement regarding Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag. However, some changes have been caught being made to the SteamDB entry for the pirate game. The changes revolved around the addition of new features that were previously not present in the game, such as custom volume controls, options for surround sound, and adjustable difficulty.

These new features include Custom Volume Controls, Stereo Sound, Surround Sound, Mouse Only Option, Adjustable Difficulty, and Save Anytime. This database change is quite recent, having taken place on July 8. For context, the last major updates to the database entry have largely revolved around adding new trailers and screenshots to the store page.

It is also worth noting that the fact that these changes were made to the Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag page on Steam rather than creating a new listing for a remake or remaster might mean grim tidings for those among us who care for video game preservation. This likely means that Ubisoft plans on replacing the original Steam listing for Black Flag altogether with the new release.

Generally speaking, not having access to original versions of a game is considered bad since not all remakes or remasters tend to be of the highest quality. As evidenced by the controversial release of the Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – Definitive Edition, there are often times when the original versions of games are preferable to shoddily made remasters or remakes that can often be quite buggy. In the case of GTA, the Definitive Edition release meant that the original versions of GTA 3, Vice City and San Andreas – three beloved games – can no longer be bought on any modern gaming platform, be it PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One or Xbox Series X/S.

As for Black Flag, the last time we heard about the remake or remaster was the voice actor for protagonist Edward Kenway, Matt Ryan, teasing the upcoming game. While signing an autograph, Ryan had asked the fan if they had beaten the game. When the fan responded that they had done so “a while ago,” Ryan replied that the fan “may have to beat it again.” He also mentioned, “There’s a reason I say that, but I can’t say anything,” which would imply that an announcement is in the works, but NDAs are preventing Ryan from divulging too many details.

Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag was originally released back in 2013 on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360. The game was a beloved title, serving as a prequel to Assassin’s Creed 3. Taking place in the Golden Age of Piracy, Black Flag features several historical figures in series tradition, including famous pirates like Edward “Blackbeard” Teach. As for the story itself, it involves Kenway trying to scam people for money but ultimately getting swept up into bigger conspiracies than he was ready for.

Officially-licensed merchandise maker Pure Arts had also previously teased that a remake for Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag was going to be announced soon. However, Ubisoft itself has been incredibly quiet about the project, with the last major Assassin’s Creed release being Shadows from earlier this year on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.

Play Arts, for those that may not know, is a company that works on officially-licensed merchandise for various franchises, including Assassin’s Creed. According to Insider Gaming, the company, along with others, has already been working on official merchandise for Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag.

“Assassin’s Creed fans out there, you should be aware that there is something going on with Edward [Keyway]”, said one host when asked about why they weren’t showcasing a figure based on Black Flag protagonist Edward Kenway. The artist was interrupted by another one saying “wait has that been announced?”

“I think so, I’m pretty sure I saw rumors about it. No, I definitely saw at article about it”, responded the first artist. Later on, the first artist also said, “So there’s going to be something going on with Edward, and our PVC 1/8th scale statue will reflect that accordingly.”

Rumours of a Black Flag remake first started popping up around 2023, with the game apparently being in early development at the time. More recent rumours have indicated that the title’s development codename is ‘Obsidian’, and that it is a ground up remake being made using Ubisoft’s own Anvil engine.

A report from back in October 2024 indicated that the remake might be closer to being completed than we first thought. Before the release date for Assassin’s Creed Shadows was pushed to March 2025, Ubisoft reportedly planned to release the Black Flag remake as the big Assassin’s Creed game for the year. According to the report, the title was planned for a November 2025 release window.

However, with the delay for Shadows – at the time pushed back to February before eventually being pushed back further to March 2025 – the entire release roadmap for the Assassin’s Creed franchise had been affected.

It is also worth noting that, according to rumours from February 2024, Ubisoft might be working on remaking another game in the franchise alongside the Black Flag remake. According to the rumour, the other remake is slated for release some time “by the end of the decade.” There have been no details about which classic Assassin’s Creed game is being remade, however.

Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag is a beloved title in the franchise, and the first one since the Ezio trilogy was wrapped up to be universally beloved when released. The title puts players in the shoes of Edward Kenway during the Golden Age of Piracy. Considering it themes, Black Flag also features appearances by several well-known historic pirates, including Edward “Blackbeard” Teach, among many others.

Back in October 2023, Black Flag was still proving itself to be incredibly popular, with Ubisoft announcing that the game had been played by more than 34 million players. The title was launched on PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One and eventually, Nintendo Switch.

Coming fresh off of Assassin’s Creed 3, which was considered by many to be a generally disappointing entry, there was a sizeable section of the series’ fanbase that was going into Black Flag with lowered expectations. With many, in fact, there was a strong feeling that a new game in the franchise shouldn’t be releasing so soon after a major flagship release in the form of Assassin’s Creed 3. Given all of that, it’s fair to say that Black Flag turned out to be a much, much better game than a significant number of people had expected it would be prior to its launch, to the extent that a healthy chunk of the series’ fanbase considers it to be the absolute peak of Assassin’s Creed. If you’ve played the game, you probably don’t need convincing that it’s very much worthy of the praise that it receives from all corners, and then some. After all, he list of reasons to love Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag is a long one.

And if you have any level of familiarity with the game, you’re well aware of the thing that stands out most prominently as the game’s defining element- its naval gameplay. Assassin’s Creed 3 introduced an entirely new side to the series’ gameplay experience in the form of naval traversal, exploration, and combat, and Ubisoft decided to crank that up to eleven in its successor. In Black Flag, players were let lose in a massive open world recreation of eighteenth century West Indies, where, as a pirate-slash-assassin and the captain of your own ship, you had the freedom to explore the vast, gorgeous seas and the many islands scattered throughout the endless stretches of water.

It was an absolutely magical experience. Seriously, no amount of superlatives feels like it’s enough to describe just how good Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag’s naval combat and exploration were. Whether you were leisurely moving on top of calm waters with your crew singing jolly shanties in the background, or engaged in a furious exchange of artillery, canon fire, and what have you in naval battles that end with exhilarating takeovers of hostile ships, or you’re boldly steering your ship through colossal, angry, violent waves in the middle of a black and angry storm- no matter how you’re engaging with the game in Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag’s open seas, the game manages to keep its hooks sunk deep into your flesh.

The whole pirate aesthetic and setting, in fact, is one of Black Flag’s biggest strengths as a game. At the time, when it came out, it had its fair share of detractors in the series’ core fanbase who felt that it being as detached from the larger Assassin’s Creed story as it was (especially with its modern-day story) made it a less significant entry for the series. Many would tell you, however, that that was one of its biggest strengths. Black Flag’s portrayal of pirate life, and the way it blends that vibe with the series’ core assassins vs templars hook, in both story and gameplay was one of its brightest highlights. No other game in the series can even hope to come close to Black Flag’s distinct aesthetic.

Of course, while Black Flag’s pirate-infused gameplay elements were clearly its best parts – from the intense naval battles to exploring the seas – other parts of the game (those that were much more familiar to fans of the series) also contributed to how well it turned out. The old Assassin’s Creed formula isn’t exactly ingenious design at this point, but in spite of its extreme familiarity, it remains an inherently strong framework- one that, more importantly, Black Flag implemented spectacularly.

Not only was its open world a compelling one to explore, complete with its many side activities and optional quests (the majority of which were, let’s face it, pretty darn formulaic), it also used its familiar blend of stealth, combat, and parkour to great effect throughout its excellently designed campaign. And, of course, the game was also very aware of what its biggest strengths were, which means a significant percentage of its main story placed more than a little bit of emphasis on naval gameplay.

More than a decade on from its launch, for many Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag remains the series’ best game for a large number of its fans. Ubisoft released several more games using that old Assassin’s Creed template after Black Flag, while since 2017, it has also released multiple games that have adopted a new action RPG formula, but in all those years, with all of those multiple instalments, very rarely (if ever) has the franchise ever come close to scaling the sort of heights that it was able to scale with Black Flag.

Whether or not we’re going to get an Assassin’s Creed game anytime soon that will be able to replicate the 2013 pirate masterpiece’s success is anyone’s guess, but interestingly enough, if leaks are to be believed, Black Flag itself may be coming back in the not too distant future. Recent leaks have claimed that a remake of the 2013 title is in early development at Ubisoft. Assuming that that’s accurate, it’ll likely still be a handful of years before it releases, though the question still needs to be asked- does Black Flag even need a remake?

Sure, it’s eleven years old at this point, and gaps between games and their remakes have been similar (like with The Last of Us) or even shorter (like with the original Resident Evil) in the past. But even though Black Flag is more than a decade old, it doesn’t feel like any part of it needs a remake. The game has aged remarkably well, both from a gameplay perspective and a technical and visuals one, which means one can’t help but wonder how exactly Ubisoft is going to justify a full-fledged remake. Is it just going to be a better looking but otherwise conservative recreation of the original game? Is it going to expand things significantly by, say, having a larger map? If it’s the former, many are going to wonder why the remake even exists, while if it’s the latter, Ubisoft will be running a high risk of making the sort of changes to the original that fans don’t appreciate. Either way, it’s a risky venture.

Given the immense legacy of the game, however, it’s fair to say that even though there will be plenty of questions asked about why it exists, if a remake of Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag is indeed officially announced we’re going to be more than ready to give it a chance. The original 2013 title was and remains an unabashed masterpiece, so any chance we get to re-experience it, we’ll take it in heartbeat.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.