It’s now two years after the viking fantasy’s release, and it is still chugging along; Ubisoft just announced a bunch of free Assassin’s Creed Valhalla’s DLC including a roguelite mode, and the final story arc for Eivor Varinsdottir.
Today during the Assassin’s Creed 15th Anniversary Celebration, Ubisoft revealed the concluding roadmap for Assassin’s Creed Valhalla‘s second year of free DLC. The roadmap features complimentary festivals, an armory update, the second Mastery Challenge pack, new tombs to explore, Eivor’s last story chapter, and the roguelite mode called “The Forgotten Saga.” All of these updates will roll out before the end of the year, with the free Eivor chapter coming last, as a send off to Assassin’s Creed Valhalla.
The Forgotten Saga throws players back into Niflheim in a mini-trailer. The brief exhibit carries glimpses of Loki’s daughter, molten lava leaking out of a colossal skull’s jaw, and hellish, ray-blasting dragons. It’s hazy exactly how this “Roguelite inspired” mode will operate, but the protagonist shouts “Each time you cast me out, will only make me stronger,” so you’ll definitely be able to keep throwing yourself at enemies while incrementally getting stronger (à la rougelikes and roguelites).
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla released back in 2020, and has Ubisoft has surprisingly been giving it a lot of dedicated (and free) support over the years. During that same time, considerable workplace culture issues have come to light within Ubisoft. There was even a mass exodus of leadership and developers from Ubisoft Toronto and Ubisoft Montreal, the teams who developed Far Cry 6 and Assassin’s Creed Valhalla respectively, due to low pay and frustration with the ongoing workplace culture.
It’s nice to see games get consistent support, but the priority should be focused on creating a better work environment for developers: one with equal, better pay, no harassment or discrimination, and one where Ubisoft management takes accountability for the toxic culture they’ve curated.
