As has long been known, Ubisoft is putting the Jackdaw back in the waters of the Caribbean, and resyncing The Animus to the larger-than-life tales of Edward Kenway.
In Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced, which we now know will set sail on July 9, we see a world full of fully rebuilt character models and locales now running on the latest version of Ubisoft Montreal’s Anvil engine, which has been used in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Assassin’s Creed Mirage, Assassin’s Creed Shadows, and the very unfairly treated Immortals Fenyx Rising.
Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Returns With Anvil Engine Updates
The game is another collaboration between Ubisoft Montreal and Ubisoft Singapore, with the latter taking over, adding new narrative beats and technical abilities. Ubisoft Toronto has seemingly also added some new motion capture to the mix!
Matt Ryan reprises his role as Edward Kenway, making the much-loved assassin feel truly immortal. Meanwhile, French musician Woodkid is back with revamped and new music, returning to the franchise for the first time in 15 years, since his music was included in Revelations.
And, yes, sea shanties make a comeback with returning favourites, new bangers, and that one Celtic folk song that destroyed us all is almost certainly back [you know the one]. New shanties are apparently better tied to the story.
We got some pretty good looks at returning destinations Havana, Kingston, and Nassau, which have all been given more personality and population, with a distinct atmosphere for each.
They will all be affected by higher-resolution models, better lighting, and a new dynamic weather system.
Edward’s ability to swim under the sea quickly became the hallmark of the original Assassin’s Creed Black Flag — offering a whole new way to explore aside from the series’ normal on-land hijinks, as well as the sophomore sailing experience. Well, underwater exploration is back, and it’s bigger than before.
Resynced Combat
Combat has been reimagined to make it less of a one-vs-one, with an enemy pile-on experience characteristic of Assassin’s Creed before the reboot.
Ubisoft claims that combat is now faster and more fluid, making every decision matter. There’s an improved parry system that creates openings for single-hit kills and lets combatants shift momentum with up to four chained takedowns.
Also, as has become expected of Assassin’s Creed, environments are now even more involved in combat, as barrels, fences, and other set designs, as well as walls and ledges, become environmental weapons.
Parkour looks much tighter and more streamlined, with the focus still on free jumps, back and side ejects, and consistent lines.
Meanwhile, stealth is improved by free crouches that let Edward sneak more easily.
Tailing and eavesdropping failures no longer lead to desynchronization; instead, they trigger reactive battles that force you to be mighty and react accordingly.
The Jackdaw Flies
The Jackdaw now has more upgrades and guns available to help you overcome all those legendary vessels that sail the open seas!
Burying the biggest news, there are three new companion characters ready to join the already iconic crew. They include Lucy Baldwin, The Padre, and Deadman Smith.
You’ll learn more about these new enigmas by taking on unique backstory questlines for each! Complete those, and you’ll be able to take them out on the high seas and benefit from some devastating abilities they’ll bring to your ship.
You now also have the ability to find a pet cat or monkey to sail with you!
What’s Gone?
So what’s gone? Multiplayer and DLC are the short answer.
There also appear to be changes coming to the modern-day story beats, with more focus on Edward and his internal struggles rather than on what Assassin’s Creed became after Desmond Miles’s story ended. [spoiler alert?]
And finally, the biggest news of all! Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced will have an exclusive collectors’ edition with an Edward Kenway statue worthy of a pirate king! It also comes with a cloth map, a broach, and a notebook containing stories from Kenway himself.
Ubisoft also confirmed PC requirements for Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced:
Minimum requirements (1080p at 30 frames per second, Low Preset, Ray Tracing – Standard, Upscaler – Balanced):
- Operating system Windows 10 (64-bit versions), Windows 11
- Processor AMD Ryzen 5 3600 @ 3.6 GHz, Intel Core i7-8700K @ 3.7 GHz, or better
- RAM 16 GB (running dual-channel mode)
- Video card AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT (8 GB), Intel ARC A580 (8 GB), NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 (6 GB), or better
- Hard drive 65 GB available storage (SSD required)
- DirectX version DirectX 12
Recommended requirements (1080p at 60 frames per second, Medium Preset, Ray Tracing – Standard, Upscaler – Balanced):
- Operating system Windows 10 (64-bit versions), Windows 11
- Processor AMD Ryzen 5 3600 @ 3.6 GHz, Intel Core i5-10600K @ 4.1 GHz, or better
- RAM 16 GB (running dual-channel mode)
- Video card AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT (8 GB), Intel ARC B580 (12 GB), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 (12 GB), or better
- Hard drive 65 GB available storage (SSD required)
- DirectX version DirectX 12
Recommended 2K configuration (1440p at 60 frames per second, High Preset, Ray Tracing – Standard, Upscaler – Balanced):
- Operating system Windows 10 (64-bit versions), Windows 11
- Processor AMD Ryzen 5 5600X @ 3.7GHz, Intel Core i5-11600K @ 3.9 GHz, or better
- RAM 16 GB (running dual-channel mode)
- Video card AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT (16 GB), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 (10 GB), or better
- Hard drive 65 GB available storage (SSD required)
- DirectX version DirectX 12
Recommended 4K configuration (2160p at 60 frames per second, Ultra Preset, Ray Tracing – Extended, Upscaler – Quality):
- Operating system Windows 10 (64-bit versions), Windows 11
- Processor AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D @ 3.0 GHz, Intel Core i5-12700K @ 3.6 GHz, or better
- RAM 16 GB (running dual-channel mode)
- Video card AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX (24 GB), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 (24 GB), or better
- Hard drive 65 GB available storage (SSD required)
- DirectX version DirectX 12
Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced swings onto PC, Xbox Series, and PlayStation 5 on July 9, 2026.
