Assassin's Creed Valhalla

Assassin's Creed Valhalla, an action role-playing game from Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft, hit shelves in 2020. It stands as the twelfth major chapter in the Assassin's Creed franchise, picking up where 2018's Assassin's Creed Odyssey left off. The story unfolds mainly between 872 and 878 AD, weaving a Viking fantasy around their push into the British Isles. Players step into the boots of Eivor Varinsdottir, a Viking raider trying to carve out a new clan settlement in England, only to get pulled into the ancient struggle between the Assassin Brotherhood—champions of peace and freedom—and the Templar Order, which seeks peace through control. A modern-day framing device follows Layla Hassan, an Assassin reliving Eivor's memories to prevent Earth's destruction.

Work on the game kicked off in 2017, around the launch of Assassin's Creed Origins. Ubisoft Montreal spearheaded the three-year effort, with fourteen other Ubisoft studios worldwide and Sperasoft pitching in. Many veterans from earlier entries returned, including Ashraf Ismail, creative director on Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag (2013) and Origins; Darby McDevitt, lead writer on Black Flag and Assassin's Creed: Revelations (2011) and co-writer of Assassin's Creed Unity (2014); and composers Jesper Kyd and Sarah Schachner, who teamed up with musician Einar Selvik for the soundtrack. Like Origins and Odyssey, the team dug deep into historical research to keep the world authentic, while Norse mythology shaped certain story beats. They also aimed to fix player complaints about Odyssey, such as its sprawling scope, weak focus on the Assassin-Templar conflict, and missing classic elements like social stealth.

Valhalla launched on PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Series S, and Stadia on November 10, 2020, with a PlayStation 5 version arriving two days later. Critics generally liked it, praising the narrative, characters, voice acting, visuals, soundtrack, world design, and how activities connected. But some knocked its length, technical glitches, and repetitive structure. It became the biggest launch in the series' history, selling more copies in its first week than any previous Assassin's Creed game, and ranking as Ubisoft's second most profitable title ever.