You may have already seen a glimpse of Assassins Creed Empire

UPDATE: This screenshot is actually from a canceled Ubi project called Project Osiris, which first came to light in 2013 after several leaked screens and rough production videos of WIP trailers. Where things get really interesting is that the shot below can be found in Black Flag in an email between two Abstergo employees:

It's the same character. It could be repurposed art but it does potentially suggest the project was abosorbed into Assassin's Creed canon (it was originally rumoured to be a Prince of Persia reboot which is also how the original Assassin's Creed started). The fact that character is looking towards the pyramids seems like massive amounts of foreshadowing.

The rough cut trailer was originally uploaded by composer Mark Kilian and seems to suggest a biblical element, with the mention of earthquakes potentially tying in with the hints of destruction in above shot.

ORIGINAL STORY: After yesterday's news that we might just get an Assassin's Creed game set in Egypt in 2017, it's time to do some time travelling without the need for an Animus or the Helix. Cast your Eagle Vision back to 2012 and consider the below screenshot, that was apparently leaked from Ubi. At the time we thought it was a Prince Of Persia reboot - see the POP description at the bottom that sent us all into a frenzy - but even then we thought it was conspicuously like Assassins.

Now, as mentioned on a Neogaf post that includes all the comments from an Ubi insider, the purported Assassin's Creed Empire stars a 'slave or ex slave' and is set in ancient Egypt. This screen definitely looks like it fits the time period and the environment just screams ancient Egypt. Going by AC development cycles 2012 would also be the very beginning of any development of what would have been this year's game.

So far this is sprinkles of rumour on a cake of hearsay, but it's exciting times if the series is taking some time to regroup before we wield the hidden blade again.

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Louise Blain

Louise Blain is a journalist and broadcaster specialising in gaming, technology, and entertainment. She is the presenter of BBC Radio 3’s monthly Sound of Gaming show and has a weekly consumer tech slot on BBC Radio Scotland. She can also be found on BBC Radio 4, BBC Five Live, Netflix UK's YouTube Channel, and on The Evolution of Horror podcast. As well as her work on GamesRadar, Louise writes for NME, T3, and TechRadar. When she’s not working, you can probably find her watching horror movies or playing an Assassin’s Creed game and getting distracted by Photo Mode.