Assassin's Creed Red footage teased, brace yourselves for a major graphical upgrade

It comes as no surprise that Assassin’s Creed Codename Red, the next installment in the franchise, will see a large leap in graphical prowess. According to Insider Gaming, who has managed to see some initial footage of the game, the new Japanese adventure will feature an update to the game’s engine, as well as introduce new mechanics.

It has been reported that the new game won’t move to a new engine, but will feature some upgrade to the existing engine, called ‘Anvil Pipeline’. From a technical standpoint, users can expect features like ray-traced global illumination and virtual geometry.

Assassin's Creed Codename Red will finally take the series to feudal Japan

Assassin's Creed Codename Red will feature “overhauled animations, parkour system, dynamic weather, and more.” It seems Ubisoft is hoping to overhaul the series's nuts and bolts to align their studios so that all developers are using the same tools and aiming for the same end product.

According to the same report from Insider Gaming, this new iteration of the series will feature a robust open-world, similar to Valhalla, while still keeping many of the stealth elements we saw in the recent Mirage. There will also be a fair amount of blood and gore as the series embraces samurai combat and culture.

Given the bloated feel of Valhalla, it will be great to see Codename Red feature a smaller open-world with, hopefully, more densely populated areas perfect for stealth. The new game will also feature an expanded ‘hideouts’ mechanic for your would-be assassins to establish a base of operations.

Of course, the most attractive upgrade will be in the visuals, with all the new generation’s bells and whistles added for a more immersive experience. Given the move to Japan, it will be great to see some of the country’s beautiful scenery and heritage shine in this upgraded engine. And, if there’s footage being shown, we should get an extended trailer in the coming months.