Assassin's Creed rumors state that a DLC in-development has been repurposed into a stand-alone spin-off game instead.

In a Bloomberg report, an unnamed source said that an upcoming Assassin's Creed stand-alone spin-off game started its development life as a DLC expansion for Assassin's Creed Valhalla. Instead, due to a variety of factors, development pivoted to make the game its own release instead.

Assasin's Creed Valhalla DLC now has Wrath of the Druids, which sent Eivor to Ireland, and Siege of Paris, which sent Eivor to France. These two DLCs were expansive, to say the least, but also added to the bloated feel so prevalent to recent Assassin's Creed titles. Meanwhile, a third expansion is coming next month, Ragnarok, which not only transports Eivor away from England but also unto an entire plane of existence. The traits of these three DLCs are in stark contrast of what the Assassin's Creed rumors indicate the supposed untitled game will be.

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The rumored Assassin's Creed game is codenamed Rift and might feature Assassin's Creed Valhalla's side-character Basim. It was originally meant to be the third expansion for Valhalla, but instead, development shifted to make this game available as an intermediate release of sorts. This game will allegedly “be smaller in scope than recent games in the series” and “won’t be a massive open-world role-playing game like previous recent entries, focusing instead more on stealth gameplay.” The slated release date is 2023.

Apparently, Rift will be released to “help fill out its thin release schedule” brought about by delayed releases and troubles in development. It's also completely different from the “Assassin's Creed Infinity” live service model that Ubisoft is planning to make for future AC titles. Perhaps this stand-alone title would be the final release of this kind, and we'd look back to the day it gets released as a turning point for the entire franchise.