Assassin’s Creed Syndicate Release: 9 Things To Know

Assassin’s Creed Syndicate is one of this year’s most anticipated titles. Series fans can’t wait to get their hands on the mechanics and upgrades that are packed into this version to compare them to things available in older editions of the game. Industry experts and journalists are excited to see whether Assassin’s Creed Syndicate marks a turn-around point for a series that’s spent the last year as the poster-child for everything they think is wrong with gaming.

Regardless of their motivation, no one can deny that the Assassin’s Creed Syndicate release date is a big day for gaming as a whole. In August and September there were huge launches for sports fans. Fans of adventure games get their due starting with Assassin’s Creed Syndicate and culminating at the end of the year with Just Cause 3.

Here’s what you need to know about the Assassin’s Creed Syndicate release this week.

The Assassin’s Creed Syndicate Release Date

The Assassin’s Creed Syndicate release date usually falls on a Tuesday in the United States. This year is an exception. Officially, the Assassin’s Creed Syndicate release date is set for Friday, October 23rd for Xbox One and PS4.

Last year Ubisoft split the difference. Assassin’s Creed Unity wasn’t available on older consoles – it was too robust. Instead, the developer released Assassin’s Creed Rogue, a game made for Xbox 360 and PS3 users only. This year, users of last generation consoles will need to upgrade to get any Assassin’s Creed experience at all. There’s no separate title made specifically for older consoles and Assassin’s Creed Syndicate won’t be coming to the Xbox 360 and PS3.

The Assassin’s Creed Syndicate Versions & Bundles

Ubisoft is keeping the Assassin’s Creed Syndicate release line-up pretty streamlined again this year. There won’t be dozens of different bundles with extras and digital content.

Read: Assassin’s Creed Syndicate Release: 5 Things to Know

Basic disc and digital editions of Assassin’s Creed Syndicate cost $59.99 for the PS4, Xbox One and Windows PCs. These versions come with the base game and a mission involving Charles Darwin and Charles Dickens. There’s an Assassin’s Creed Syndicate Season Pass that gets users special missions and extras too. That season pass costs standard edition buyers $29.99.

Spending $89.99 gets Assassin’s Creed Syndicate buyers access to all downloadable content, the standard game and pre-order extras. Ubisoft calls this Assassin’s Creed Syndicate Gold Edition. To be clear, the Assassin’s Creed Syndicate Season Pass can be purchased separately.

You can pre-order either version of Assassin’s Creed Syndicate through the Xbox Store and PlayStation Store digitally now. This gives your console time to download the full game before the release day arrives. If pre-downloaded, the game unlocks automatically on release night.

Assassin’s Creed Syndicate Has Two Main Characters

Typically, Assassin’s Creed games have a single main character and a large supporting cast made up of new faces and figures players will recognize from their school history books. Assassin’s Creed Syndicate keeps the supporting cast and the historical figures, but adds a new wrinkle.

Jacob and Evie Frye are the stars of Assassin’s Creed Syndicate. Twins, both were trained in the ways of the Assassin Order by their father. Jacob is a boxer, brash and carries a cane sword. Evie is stealthy, cunning and appears to be more methodical in her approach to taking down the Templars.

Ubisoft says that one of the twins will be required for each story mission. Also, players will get the option to switch between the different characters in the game’s menus easily. This is important because each brings their own particular style to London.

Pre-Order for the Assassin’s Creed Syndicate XP Boost At GameStop

People seem to have had enough with pre-order extras that force them into purchasing a game at a specific retailer. Ubisoft cut back on those, but it hasn’t completely written them off.

Checking retailers in the U.S. reveals that GameStop is giving its shoppers a 10% boost in XP for 10 hours. This add-on should allow users to level up their character faster. Assassin’s Creed Syndicate buyers also get a Shilling Necklace to where that no one else does.

Midnight Assassin’s Creed Syndicate Release Events Are Scarce

Usually, there are release night events that gamers can attend to pick up their copy of any major game. midnight Assassin’s Creed Syndicate release events seem a bit slim this year.

GameStop has confirmed that it is holding a midnight Assassin’s Creed Syndicate event at many of its stores. Shoppers will be able to hangout out for hours in stores, checking out demo stations and looking at the latest Assassin’s Creed Syndicate related extras.

Read: Midnight Assassin’s Creed Syndicate Release Date Events Revealed

Best Buy, Target and Wal-Mart will also have Assassin’s Creed Syndicate available on release day. Of those, only Wal-Mart will be open at midnight for those who want their copies as soon as possible.

Don’t Buy Assassin’s Creed Syndicate for Multiplayer

Last year’s Assassin’s Creed Unity put co-operative play at the forefront of the experience. Teams of Assassins could go on small, ever changing missions together within the City of Paris. For Assassin’s Creed Syndicate, Ubisoft is going back to a standalone single-player experience. The developer confirmed earlier this year that Assassin’s Creed Syndicate won’t have any multiplayer modes at all. Instead, its teams focused on delivering a stellar single player experience, the developer says.

The benefit of this is that having Xbox Live Gold or a PlayStation Plus subscription won’t be a requirement to fully enjoy the game.

Expect a Small Assassin’s Creed Syndicate Update on Release Day

Assassin’s Creed Syndicate won’t have a huge patch for users to download when it arrives. That’s according to an Ubisoft community manager. “We actually have two patches that will be available on Day 1. Together the updates will mean users downloading roughly a GB of upgrades to their hard drives. Some are criticizing the studio for the updates, but they’re nowhere close to other games. Microsoft’s own Halo 5: Guardians has a release day patch that’ll take 9GB of storage and be required to play the game’s online multiplayer.

Get Custom Extras From Joining the Assassin’s Creed Syndicate Community

Ubisoft’s  new Assassin’s Creed Rewards program is pretty interesting. Anyone who pre-orders the game gets access to a store where they can redeem point that they earn for items and extras. It’s a rather transparent attempt to build a community out of Assassin’s Creed players, but that’s ok.

Anyone who registers there gets a free skin for their Evie Frye character ahead of the Assassin’s Creed Syndicate release day. You can join the program here.

The Assassin’s Creed Syndicate Season Pass Gets You Jack The Ripper

Assassin’s Creed Syndicate is going dark for this year’s add-on content, very dark. Black Flag let players become a former slave and freedom fighter in the Caribbean. Unity took players to a French royal crypt.

The add-on content for Assassin’s Creed Syndicate is focused on notorious British killer Jack The Ripper. This add-on story arrives in December and is included in the Assassin’s Creed Syndicate Season Pass for $29.99.

Also included is The Last Maharaja Mission Pack, exclusive access to the A Long Night Mission, the Steampunk and Victorian Legends Packs, a Helix credit pack to boost their character’s resources in the game and a permanent XP boost that lets buyers level faster.

Read: Bloody Assassin’s Creed Syndicate Release Details Arrive

Good luck with the Assassin’s Creed Syndicate release this week.