Assassin's Creed rival 1666: Amsterdam to launch before Hexe as release date locked in

Assassin's Creed rival 1666: Amsterdam has locked in an early access release date for later this month, giving players an early glimpse of what the full experience offers.

In the works since at least 2010, development on 1666: Amsterdam is led by Patrice Désilets, a former Ubisoft developer who founded Panache Digital Games a few years after leaving the company.

It was announced at Summer Game Fest earlier this year, with many fans comparing the first trailer and demo to Assassin's Creed, likely due to the similarities in content.

Now, Panache Digital Games has announced that 1666: Amsterdam will be launching into Steam Early Access on August 25, 2026.

The game is a third-person action-adventure game where you play as Noa, a witch living in 1666 who hunts the Originals, corrupted supernatural forces that possess ordinary folk in Amsterdam.

The announcement came along with a new trailer showing off some gameplay from the full game, detailing more facts about what you actually do in the game.

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New gameplay trailer for 1666: Amsterdam details what you'll be doing throughout the game's story

The trailer details the differences between the day and night cycles. By day, you gather clues and do investigations to try to weed out the Originals.

By night, you can confront these beings during a full moon and take full advantage of the magical powers and combat abilities that Noa has at her disposal.

Meanwhile, the game also has you play as Aaron, a person from 1999 who is mysteriously transported to Noa's time and possesses her cat familiar. The trailer details the differences between playing as both characters, including the unique abilities that Aaron can use which Noa can't.

The early access version of 1666: Amsterdam comprises about 15 hours of gameplay, offering the first piece of the campaign for players to play through.

"We expect the process to see 1666: Amsterdam through to completion to take approximately 1 year, with multiple major updates adding new content to the game at regular intervals," Panache Digital Games said regarding how long the early access period will last.

Regarding what new content will come to the game over time, Panache said that "When 1666: Amsterdam is complete, there will be a huge, lovingly crafted world for players to explore, spanning multiple boroughs. Each major content update throughout Early Access is intended to expand this world, adding hours more of the story and more of The Originals for Noa to collect. We also plan to improve the game experience throughout this process, through bug fixes and optimisation."

Following the release of the demo in June, 1666: Amsterdam was accused of using AI-generated assets for some in-game art, which wasn't disclosed on the store page.

With the August 25, 2026, early access launch, 1666: Amsterdam will be available for people to play earlier than Assassin's Creed: Codename Hexe, a game that is said to have a similar premise involving witch hunts and paranormal hysteria in a 16th-century European setting.

Assassin's Creed: Codename Hexe doesn't have a release window yet, and could still be years out despite being announced way back in 2022.