Desmond Miles is dead, long live Desmond Miles. The Assassin's Creed franchise, on the other hand, is showing no signs of slowing down - the sixth Creed game of the main storyline set to release this fall.
However, with Miles gone, who and how can the genetic memories of famous assassins like Ezio, Altair, Connor and other Miles decendants be experienced? Either Abstergo found a way around getting a descendant, or they've been employing a long lost cousin this whole time.
"Desmond has been the main protagonist of the franchise so far. This won't be the case in [Black Flag]," says creative director Jean Guesdon in an interview. Desmond may be gone, but he's not out. As the tie that binds, "Desmond will be referred to as a very important legacy of the AC universe."
It was recently confirmed by Ubisoft that the role traditionally played by Desmond Miles has since been replaced by an as-of-yet unnamed Abstergo employee.
The other difference is that when not plugged into the Animus, the events that take place during the present day will be played from a first person view, shrouding even more mystery over this anonymous Abstergo researcher.
As far as any other plot points, Ubisoft has shared very little.
We know that Black Flag is the first prequel in a game franchise that's based in the past, and sees players controlling AC3 protagonist Connor's grandfather, Edward Kenway, a former Royal Navy man for the British crown turned pirating privateer in the blue waters of the Caribbean. The game takes place somewhere around 1713, long before the last time we saw any vestige of the assassins, the American Revolution. The colonial frontier of the new world is traded in for the warm waterfronts of Nassau, Havana and Kingston, and historical figures such as the infamous pirate Blackbeard, Calico Jack, Charles Vane, and others.
Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag is due on PC, PlayStation 3, Wii U and Xbox 360 sometime around in October and early November. The game will also arrive on the next-gen PlayStation 4 and Xbox One whenever the consoles release.
