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"It's just such a natural thing."
The massive success of Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced probably has something to do with the studio's decision to work on a New Game Plus mode. Game director Richard Knight confirmed the feature is currently in early stages of development.
Knight's nearly hour-long interview with YouTuber JorRaptor (via GamesRadar+) touched on a number of different topics, including New Game Plus. According to Knight, New Game Plus was one of the first things the developer started working on after finishing the main game.
"Well, this is the one thing I can say. Yes, we're working on that right now," Knight revealed. "It's one of the first things."
Interestingly, Ubisoft wanted to follow the example set by Assassin's Creed Shadows, whose developers already built a New Game Plus mode for it. Knight added: "Partly because Shadows has already built their version, so it's considered a low-risk feature for us."
In Shadows' case, Ubisoft announced quickly after launch that New Game Plus would arrive in the Japan-set game post launch, so the timeline is similar, albeit without a roadmap for Black Flag Resynced to match. The game director also hinted that it's going to be inspired by Shadows, while acknowledging that the two games are different.
Unfortunately, if you're expecting some sort of a hint as to when that would arrive, you'll have to wait longer. "We're still doing the work, so I can't promise exactly a day or anything, but we're definitely working on this one. It's just such a natural thing," Knight explained.
Indeed, the feature seems far enough away that several details have not yet been finalised. For instance, New Game Plus could have unique rewards - it's something the developer is discussing - but nothing has been decided at this point.
"There's still production discussions about what we can do and how much time it takes. Every item we make needs a mode, sometimes it needs cloth sim, all sorts of things," he added.
It's not entirely surprising to hear that New Game Plus in Black Flag Resynced may be more tricky to implement compared to Shadows. The games differ substantially in structure, and the original Black Flag did not have its own New Game Plus for developers to replicate.
Recent analysis revealed that Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced has had the best launch of any game in the long-running series on Steam, and it's part of what makes Ubisoft's decision to lay off staff at its Barcelona studio - which contributed to the game - even more heartbreaking. Ubisoft Barcelona staff are on a three-day strike in protest.
In the Black Flag Resynced Eurogamer review, Dom Peppiatt likened it to the Ship of Theseus, noting that "there are imprints of that original game inside Resynced still, but they're obfuscated and marred by all these roughly-inserted new bits and bobs that feel awkward at best, and actively detract from the experience at worst."
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