It seems like Ubisoft can’t keep anything about Assassin’s Creed 4 a secret: the game’s title and setting were leaked before Ubisoft could officially announce the game themselves, and while Ubisoft originally told us that we’d have to wait until March 4th to get our first look at the new game, its trailer leaked online early this morning.
The new trailer confirms that AC4: Black Flag is a prequel to last year’s AC3. The main character this time is Edward Kenway, an assassin and a privateer working for the British navy. Hardcore AC fans are probably already familiar with Edward Kenway, or at least his name — he’s the father of Hatham Kenway and the grandfather of Connor Kenway, the central characters of AC3. Black Flag is set in the Caribbean several decades before the events of AC3, during a period that Ubisoft describes as “The Golden Age of Piracy.” Infamous real-life pirate Black Beard appears to be one of the central characters in the story as well. The trailer also seems to suggest that the game will feature a heavier focus on naval battles and will allow players to explore underwater locations, which would be a first for the series.
Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag will be released for the PS3, Xbox 360, PC and Wii U on October 29, 2013. The game is also coming to “next generation consoles” (presumably the PS4 and the New Xbox.)
UPDATE: The original video has been removed from YouTube. I’d find a mirror, but Ubisoft is doing their best to delete an uploads of the trailer on sites like YouTube, Dailymotion, etc., so if you missed the trailer earlier, you might have to wait until Monday, when Ubisoft originally planned to unveil the video in the first place.