Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced "remains a solo adventure and character-driven experience," says Ubisoft lead: "It is not an RPG"

Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced is real, happening, and launching on July 9, but Ubisoft wants to make it very clear that it's a single-player experience and "not an RPG."

We just got our first proper official look at the long-awaited Black Flag remake after literal years of leaks and rumors, and as well as the showcase confirming it'll be "rebuilt from the ground up," it was noted by game director Richard Knight that it'll "deliver a faithful and enriched experience grounded in what players loved." As part of that, he notes that certain key aspects haven't changed.

"Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced matters deeply to us and to you. That's why we took the time to rebuild it with the care it deserves. This remains a solo adventure and character-driven experience. It is not an RPG," Knight explains. "The focus stays on how you play and how you explore the world, and as we developed the game, we organized dedicated workshops with our community. These early player feedbacks played an important role in refining many of these elements."

This does mean, however, that the multiplayer features included in the original game aren't present here. Paul Fu, creative director of the remake, says: "With Resynced, we made a clear choice. It is a pure story-driven adventure, and we are fully focused on Edward's adventures in the Caribbean. As a result of this focus, we have elected to not have multiplayer and not have the DLC.

"However, Resynced is built from the ground up with new story, new content, and new systems, but we're staying true to its action-adventure roots. Resynced is a 2026 take on the original legend, and for those of us who are curious, the original will still be available."

I imagine that latter part might prove divisive – it's a very different game, but JRPG remake Persona 3 Reload was criticized for not including the female protagonist introduced in its PSP port, as well as its FES re-release's epilogue, The Answer (although this was later added as DLC). After all, folks generally expect remakes of games to serve as a definitive version – with all that effort being put in to make something shiny and new again, why wouldn't it have all the content and additions made to its predecessor (or predecessors, in Persona 3's case) over time?

Part of me wonders if Ubisoft might opt to add Black Flag's old DLC later down the line to Resynced, but Fu's immediate point towards the original game doesn't inspire the most confidence in that regard. We'll just have to wait and see.

Assassin's Creed 3 director says Ubisoft held back on the ship-sailing stuff until Black Flag because they were worried the tech "wouldn't work," and I have to say that was 100% the right call.