“You will see why Resynced makes sense” Black Flag remake director teases more about why the modern day element was cut from the latest Assassin’s Creed

First things first: this thing is real. After three long years of rumours, reports, and leaks, Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed Black Flag remake was revealed back in March and we got more details about what it actually is in April. The remake, dubbed Resync, is coming to PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC on 9th July, and – having had a fairly substantial hands-on with Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynched recently, I’m weirdly smitten with how rough and ready it is.

But there’s one thing that’s been nagging at me: what’s going on with the modern day stuff? That’s a question our very own Matt got to dig into based on a hands-off showing of the game during its reveal, and the initial findings laid out some solid foundations. In case you need a refresher, Black Flag’s modern-day sections in 2013 revolved around the Abstergo company putting people into its Animus simulation program to, ostensibly, gather footage for an interactive feature film set in the Golden Age of Piracy (yes, really).

But this farce was just a ploy for Abstergo – somewhere between Ubisoft itself and the Templars of the modern day – to gather information about some sci-fi nonsense in the form of ‘a First Civilization structure’ called ‘The Observatory’. Now, a lot of people think the modern day bits of the old Assassin’s games were a bit pants – me included – but there was intrigue to the whole affair, at least. I remember loving the rush I got when I used Desmond’s eagle vision in the first game to see all the glyphs and hints in his little cell at the end of the game. I really bought into the whole Shaun Hastings and Rebecca Crane meta-narrative that, I think, still echoes into the series today.

The modern day stuff in Assassin’s Creed has long been relegated to the backburner, not really taking up much space at all in games like Mirage or Shadows. Back in March, Ubisoft noted Black Flag’s modern sections “reflected where the franchise was” at the time, acting as a vessel to transport the series into its next era. “Changes were needed” for the remake, then. But what are those changes?

“Our game is a new narrative,” Julien Koch, design director at Assassin’s Creed Singapore tells me. “Both narratives are valid, but in playing the game more you will understand that ‘Resync’ makes sense not only for the brand, but also for the story.” How cryptic. Previously, Ubisoft had noted that there are “modern day riffs” in Resynced, but no proper gameplay sections like we had in the 2013 game.

“The modern day storyline from the original Black Flag was really, mostly, how we tied Black Flag to other games in the series, like Assassins Creed 3 and [the Ezio trilogy], and so on,” continues Koch. “We made the decision from the start to approach [the modern day aspect] this way in Resynced.”

So what does that mean? I have a theory. I think the 2013 version of Black Flag happened already, in-universe. I think Abstergo got our unnamed character from that game, pilfered their memories, and all the events that happened since have already taken place. I think Resynced – living up to the name – sees Abstergo re-visiting this period of history with its shiny new tech to try and glean more information from the ‘genetic memories’ of protagonist Edward Kenway.

That’s a nice, convenient way of justifying the new version of events and the new narrative threads (“we have roughly six hours of new content”, Koch tells me) that original writer Darby McDevitt has returned to add into the game. It also makes sense of some of the “new moments that [will] focus on Edward’s internal struggles” – perhaps the upgraded Animus lets Abstergo see further into its subject’s heads, not just examine the implications of their actions and the history around them? Perhaps I’m drastically over-thinking all this?

Either way, I’m encouraged by Koch’s wry answer to my question. He doesn’t want to ruin the surprise. I even asked him about the bonus story material and how it fits into the world, and what the process behind weaving the new threads into an old tapestry was like. “I don’t really want to talk about it, because I really want you to experience it,” he smiled. “There’s a new ending for Blackbeard, more about Stede Bonnet’s fate… all of it is tied together.” That’s as much as I got.

All this puts me in mind of the Final Fantasy 7 Remake, weirdly. In revisiting the game, Square Enix took a weird curveball that resisted a straight-up retelling of the 1997 original in favour of a more self-aware reflection on the RPG’s history and legacy. That’s what Ubisoft is (sort-of) doing here: acknowledging the original, warts and all, and adding more detail and context to that. I admire the decision, as controversial as it may end up being. I look forward to seeing how it all plays out in the final game.

In the meantime, you can read what I made of my time playing it so far in our Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynched preview.