Assassin’s Creed fans are split over some key missions being cut from the upcoming Black Flag remake.

We’re just a month or so away from the highly anticipated release of Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced, a remake of the beloved Ubisoft game that was originally released in 2013.

For the most part, Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced is a faithful recreation of what made the OG so popular, but comes with improved graphics, environments, performance, new content such as endgame missions featuring a brand new character and more.

Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced Is Missing Content

During the hands-on preview event, Ubisoft developer Julian Koch confirmed to us that the fantastic Freedom Cry expansion is not included in the remake.

However, its protagonist, Adéwalé, will still play a key role in the remake and may have moments that are different from the original. In the interview, the developer also shared what underrated Assassin’s Creed game he’d love to see remade.

We also learned that Freedom Cry is not the only content cut from the original game, because the modern-day setting featuring the Abstergo offices, as well as the Desmond Miles story arc, will not be in the game. However, it’s now been clarified why those missions and Desmond won’t feature.

Desmond Miles in Assassin's Creed III, Ubisoft

In a nutshell, Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag is the sixth mainline entry in the series to tell Desmond Miles' story. Before that, it was Assassin’s Creed, Assassin’s Creed II, Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood, Assassin’s Creed Revelations and Assassin’s Creed III.

Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced might be the first game in the series that new fans will play, and with that being the case, players experiencing Desmond’s story at this point will feel out of place, not knowing his lore.

“Back then, it was very important to know what happened to Desmond's friends,” game director Richard Knight told GamesRadar. "But what we want to do is take Black Flag and update it and modernise it for today.

“So we knew we needed to change certain things. You can still play the original Black Flag, but this one, to me, is the latest Assassin's Creed. It's the post-Shadows AC. It's still an authentic retelling, but it's also a new retelling,” he continued.

Assassin’s Creed III Ended on a Major Cliffhanger

After the conclusion of Assassin’s Creed III, “[People] really wanted to know what happened to [Desmond's] friends and Abstergo. That's not really the question that's being asked today, in the face of Shadows and Mirage and so on.

“We knew that what we wanted to do was continue what's been starting to be told with Shadows, but we also wanted something that ties directly to the game you're playing, so something to Edward's experience.

“What we came up with is these four rifts that you can find if you so choose, or you can choose to ignore them and just be Edward, the pirate and the assassin, and stick to that.

"They tell these 'what if' scenarios so that it still feels tied to that game, so even if you do go find this modern-day experience, you're still playing Black Flag Resynced, you're still playing Edward's adventure, and you don't feel like you've taken a break for hours.”

Assassin’s Creed Fans React!

“So what's connecting chapters in the story, just raw time-skips?” asked Immediate_Frame.

“Probably that, and I bet any modern-day stuff will just be lore dumps you can optionally check in that tacked-on launcher thing they started with Shadows,” replied KoosPetoors. “I would honestly be surprised if they do anything substantial for the modern day.”

“I liked the modern-day section because you could get a bunch of information about things they have never told you before. The only thing I didn‘t like were the Frogger-inspired minigames, those always made me rage,” explained PigletSea6193.

“I mean, the modern sections were barely present in Black Flag. As someone who cared not for the modern story at the time, I thought it was short enough not to bother me,” said JayKayGray. “At the same time, they added so little that its complete removal wouldn't change much, and would definitely make the game flow better.”

“I hate this. I gotta be the only person that liked the modern section? The world-building is what made the games so cool and not just being an historic simulator,” commented Drokeep.

We Went Hands-on With Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced

“I came away feeling very impressed with Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced,” I said in our hands-on preview. “While some may be disappointed that the whole game hasn't been overhauled, I believe that by making a ton of quality of life improvements, it not only honours the 2013 original but it also makes it feel somewhat of a modern release, which should be great news for old and new fans alike.”

Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced will be released on 9 July 2026 on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.

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