Unearthing a Lost History: Ubisoft Reportedly Scrapped a Post-Civil War Assassin's Creed Game

The annals of video game development are often littered with whispers of projects that never saw the light of day, and it appears the Assassin's Creed saga is no exception. Recent reports suggest that Ubisoft has quietly shelved an ambitious Assassin's Creed title, codenamed "Project Ricochet" – initially known as "Project Cobalt" – which was poised to transport players to a fascinating and under-explored period of American history: the Gilded Age following the American Civil War.

This revelation comes courtesy of well-known insiders like @j0nathan and Tom Henderson, who have a strong track record for uncovering Ubisoft's internal workings.

The mere concept of an Assassin's Creed game set in this era ignites the imagination. Picture the sprawling, rapidly industrializing cities of late 19th-century America, a time of immense wealth disparity, political corruption, and groundbreaking technological advancement. It’s a backdrop ripe for the clandestine struggles of the Assassins and Templars, offering a fresh perspective on American history beyond the revolutionary and colonial periods already explored.

While concrete details about "Project Ricochet" remain scarce, the setting itself hints at profound thematic possibilities.

The Gilded Age, from roughly the 1870s to the turn of the 20th century, was a period of intense social and economic upheaval. The scars of the Civil War were still fresh, the West was being 'won' through brutal expansion, and waves of immigration were reshaping the national identity. An Assassin's Creed game here could have delved into the rise of powerful industrialists (perhaps Templar figures?), the fight for workers' rights, the plight of Native Americans facing relentless encroachment, or the simmering tensions between old money and new.

Speculation points to a potential protagonist of Native American descent, navigating the complexities of a changing nation.

Such a character could have offered a uniquely poignant and powerful lens through which to view this pivotal era, blending the struggle for personal freedom with the broader battle for cultural survival. The game could have explored themes of identity, industrial espionage, and the very definition of progress in a nation grappling with its own contradictions.

Ubisoft's decision to reportedly drop this project, while disappointing to fans eager for new settings, isn't entirely surprising.

The publisher is known for its extensive internal incubation process, greenlighting numerous Assassin's Creed concepts, many of which ultimately don't make it past early development. This allows for extensive ideation but also means many promising ideas are eventually culled to focus resources on the most viable.

Currently, the company is publicly invested in upcoming titles like "Codename Hexe," "Codename Red," and the multiplayer experience "Codename Invictus," suggesting a clear roadmap for the franchise's immediate future.

The cancellation of "Project Ricochet" leaves a void, a tantalizing glimpse of what could have been a truly unique chapter in the Assassin's Creed legacy.

While we may never walk the gaslit streets of Gilded Age America as an Assassin, the report serves as a reminder of the rich tapestry of historical narratives Ubisoft continues to consider, even if not all of them reach our screens.