Assassin's Creed Hexe long-awaited first look at franchise's 'darkest' entry leaks online

A very brief glimpse of the highly anticipated Assassin’s Creed Hexe has surfaced online amid Ubisoft’s silence.

After Assassin’s Creed Shadows took players to 16th-century feudal Japan, Assassin’s Creed Hexe is set to send us across the pond to 16th-century Europe.

Believed to be set during the reign of the Holy Roman Empire, Assassin’s Creed Hexe is said to focus on the witch trials that tore through Europe, centring on those that took place in Germany.

Very little has been officially revealed about the game since it was first announced four years ago, but leaker Rogue I Tx has surfaced with a brief glimpse of what to expect, as spotted by ComicBook.com.

The leaker took to Twitter/X to show an in-development screenshot of a cathedral with an accompanying screenshot showing file notes labelling it as "Wuerzburg Catherdral".

There is indeed a Roman Catholic cathedral in Würzburg, Bavaria, although this Assassin’s Creed version appears to be a tad more ornate.

Strangely, the cathedral actually looks a lot more like St. Lorenz, a medieval church located in the city of Nuremberg.

Nuremberg was a significant location in the 16th-century, acting as an independent city-state (or free imperial city) located within the heart of the Holy Roman Empire.

Its independence and free-thinking attracted all of Germany’s greatest minds, leading it to become the beating heart of the German Renaissance.

Regardless of which city Assassin’s Creed Hexe’s is set to reflect, this image certainly backs up the belief that Assassin’s Creed Hexe is set within Germany.

READ MORE: Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced drops adorable freebie that's simple to claim

Everything we know about Assassin’s Creed Hexe so far

Given that Assassin’s Creed Hexe has changed directors several times now, it spells creative differences behind the scenes, which could explain why so little has been officially revealed about the game.

As far as leaks go, it’s repeatedly been teased as the darkest entry within the Assassin’s Creed series.

Hexe will reportedly follow a female protagonist by the name of Anika, previously believed to be Elsa. It’s not yet known whether Anika is a witch or just believed to be one due to her stealth skills.

Perhaps most excitingly, Hexe is rumoured to bring back a couple of familiar faces.

It’s claimed that Ezio Auditore could surface in the story alongside his sister Claudia - and that’s because Anika is expected to be a descendant of Claudia.

This would most definitely fit in terms of timelines; we know that Claudia was alive during the events of Assassin’s Creed Revelations, which runs from 1511 to 1512.

Rumours claim that Anika will learn the ways of being an Assassin through Ezio, who’ll clearly appear as a more aged version than we’re often used to.

Of course, this has to be taken with a pinch of salt. Given those aforementioned changes in leadership and direction for Assassin's Creed Hexe, it’s nigh impossible to judge which elements of the game might’ve changed.

With Assassin’s Creed Shadows now almost 18 months old, you might expect Ubisoft to soon be ready to start discussing Assassin’s Creed Hexe.

It’s undoubtedly been a difficult few years for Assassin’s Creed, though, and Ubisoft more generally, with mixed responses to many of its games.

It seems to have regained some favour with fans with the new remake of Black Flag, Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced.

Let’s hope Assassin’s Creed Hexe continues this new winning run and proves to be the brilliant entry we’re all hoping it will be.