Next Assassin’s Creed Game Delayed – Report
One of Ubisoft’s next entries in the Assassin’s Creed franchise is reportedly delayed. This time, it’s the mobile game set in China called Assassin’s Creed Jade.
According to Reuters, the game was supposed to be released for iOS and Android sometime this year, but has since been delayed to 2025. It’s being co-developed by Level Infinite, and the delay is reportedly due to its parent company, Tencent, shifting its mobile strategy. The company now wants to focus more on smaller, easy-to-play games rather than large franchise ones from foreign companies.
Tencent has recently become a prolific developer in the mobile space. There is reportedly an Elden Ring mobile game in development over at Tencent right now, but it’s seemingly going to be a while before we get to see it. Another Nier mobile game was reportedly canceled due to Tencent being unable to figure out a way to monetize it. It was reportedly in development for two years before Tencent decided to cease working on it.
There are several other Assassin’s Creed games in the works right now, including Assassin’s Creed Infinity–which will act as a hub for future games–as well as Codename Red, and Codename Hexe. These have not had any release dates announced.
The Sims Movie Is In Development, With Margot Robbie Set To Produce
The Sims franchise is getting a new installment, but it’s not an expansion pack or a new fashion kit–it’s a film.
The Sims movie is being produced by LuckyChap Entertainment–a production company run by Margot Robbie, Tom Ackerley, Sophia Kerr, and Josie McNamara–which is best known for last summer’s bright pink blockbuster, Barbie, and the recently released comedy/thriller, Saltburn. Loki season 1 director Kate Herron is attached to direct, and is co-writing the screenplay with Briony Redman, a writer and comedian best known for 2014’s short film, Forget Me Not. Herron and Briony previously teamed up to work on Doctor Who in 2023. The film’s scheduled release date has not yet been announced.
Now Playing: The Sims’ Darkest Mystery: The Fate Of Its Most Famous Sim | Lorescape
At first glance, The Sims may seem like an odd choice for a film. The core gameplay loop revolves around players creating unique characters called Sims, styling their appearance, building their homes, and managing their wants, needs, and relationships with other Sims. The game has no real plot to speak of, as what happens in-game is almost entirely up to the player. But given the success of Barbie, it’s likely that Robbie and her fellow LuckyChap producers are up to the task, as The Sims has quite a few parallels to the unstructured way children play with Barbie dolls. In fact, Will Wright–who co-founded Maxis and led development on the first entry in The Sims franchise back in 2000—originally wanted the game to be called “Dollhouse” due to the similarity between the way players interact with their Sims and children interact with their dolls. Wright was inspired to create a “virtual dollhouse” game after losing his home to a firestorm that hit Oakland in 1991 (which might explain why house fires started by inexperienced Sims attempting to make mac and cheese are such a common occurrence in-game).
Due to the sandbox-esque nature of the game, there’s no telling what direction the film’s plot may take, but it’s possible it could involve the franchise’s biggest mystery: the disappearance of Bella Goth. The Goths are a pre-made family who first appeared in the original Sims game, and have featured in nearly every entry in the series since. At some point, Bella Goth went missing, and the culprit has never been found, though players have narrowed down the most likely cause to a few theories:
- Foul play on the part of Bella’s husband, Mortimer, after discovering Bella was cheating on him with her neighbor and fellow pre-made Sim, the notorious womanizer Don Lothario.
- Foul play on the part of Don Lothario himself.
- Alien abduction.
Amusingly, the alien abduction theory is generally agreed upon as the most likely scenario, and while LuckyChap has yet to release any information regarding the upcoming film’s plot, it’s likely that some familiar faces–like the Goth family, Freezer Bunny, and the Grim Reaper–will make an appearance in the film.
Here’s hoping no ladders go missing from swimming pools during production.
Rise Of The Ronin Review Roundup
Rise of the Ronin is out this week, and this new Sony-published game from Nioh developer Team Ninja shifts the action to a more grounded direction when compared to the studio’s recent spate of fantasy-themed titles. Set in a turbulent era of Japan, Rise of the Ronin tells character-driven stories across years of history that you’ll shape with your blade and guns.
Reviews are live at dozens of outlets, and so far, critics have highlighted the game’s surprisingly strong storytelling and slick action. Where Rise of the Ronin does seemingly falter is in its open world full of busywork, a lack of variety in missions, and the game needing several hours to find its groove. On GameSpot’s sister site Metacritic, Rise of the Ronin currently has a “Generally Favorable” Metascore of 76 from 94 reviews.
Now Playing: Rise Of The Ronin Review
“Though it has a somewhat steep combat learning curve and some dated open-world ideas, Rise of the Ronin does a great job of rewarding your time in its world,” Phil Hornshaw wrote in GameSpot’s Rise of the Ronin review. For more review roundups of all the big games dropping this month, you can check out what critics have to say about Dragon’s Dogma 2, Alone in the Dark, and Unicorn Overlord.
- Game: Rise of the Ronin
- Platforms: Steam, PS5
- Developer: Team Ninja
- Release Date: March 22
- Price: $70
GameSpot — 7/10
“It’s not without some flaws, but I finished Rise of the Ronin with much more left to do, and even after 50 hours, I want to head back in to see what I’d missed and attempt to change history. The parts of the game that work more than balance out its weaker elements. And while it took a while to find the rhythm of Rise of the Ronin’s combat, its speed, complexity, and intensity make for some phenomenal fights that always feel great to win. Rise of the Ronin is a game that might take a bit to get good, but the commitment is worth it.” — Phil Hornshaw [Full review]
NME — 4/5
“Rise Of The Ronin has a slow start, but pays off immeasurably for those who stick with it. Few titles can match the frantic thrill of its sword fights, while Bakumatsu proves to be the perfect setting for a choice-driven narrative.” — Andy Brown [Full review]
Eurogamer — 4/5
“As a Sony-published release, Ronin isn’t quite Team Ninja’s Elden Ring, even if it does evolve its Nioh-like formula, with the help of existing open world formulae. Still, while it’s been great to witness the renaissance of Japanese games these past few years, there’s something special about seeing a Japanese developer stepping up to reclaim the AAA open world samurai game for itself –especially one that cares more about being a video game than a Kurosawa film.” — Alan Wen [Full review]
Noisy Pixel — 8/10
“Rise of the Ronin is a masterful blend of historical fantasy narrative and intricate combat mechanics, set in an expansive and immersive open world. The game challenges and respects player choices, offering a rich story that explores loyalty, cultural shifts, and personal goals. Despite minor issues with environmental traversal and graphical hiccups, Team Ninja’s foray into open-world design is a significant achievement.” — Azario Lopez [Full review]
RPG Site – 8/10
“It is relatively much more grounded than Team Ninja’s previous action RPGs as it contains no mythical, supernatural, or fantastical elements; Rise of the Ronin is a story about humans all the way through. While this title retains the awesome action combat that Team Ninja is known for, its open-world activities lack variety, and much of what it has to offer in that regard has been done before, and even better, in other open-world titles.” — Josh Torres [Full review]
GamesRadar — 3.5/5
“Rise of the Ronin is a solid action-RPG experience that could, and probably should, have been stronger. It’s fun but too familiar in the grand pantheon of similar offerings–not least from developer Team Ninja’s back catalog itself.” — Joe Donnelly [Full review]
IGN – 7/10
“Rise of the Ronin is excellent when it has the courage to be itself and lean into its challenging, rewarding fighting; too often, however, it feels stuck in indecision, torn between what it wants to be and what it feels it’s expected to be, and not even the best samurai can overcome that.” — Will Border [Full review]
