Find out about Desmond's life post-AC3 in Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag

Yesterday on the PAX Prime main stage, Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag Director Ashraf Ismail fielded questions from fans on the future direction of the Assassin's Creed series, the mysteries of protagonist Edward Kenway, and the fate of Desmond Miles--which may not be as cut and dried as once thought. Obviously, spoilers for Assassin's Creed III follow.

Joined by Charles Vane voice actor Ralph Ineson (of Game of Thrones fame), Ismail emphasized that ACIV would focus on a new kind of democracy—a pirate republic that, unlike the American Revolution, ended in failure. "Quick-witted Welshman" Edward Kenway also isn't a typical assassin, and isn't part of the Assassin Brotherhood at the start of the game--Ismail remained tight-lipped about just how Edward earns his hood, but promised a whirlwind ride.

The real surprises came in a brief discussion of bloodline continuations, and, most importantly, Desmond Miles. "It was never a hard and fast rule that we had to go forward," Ismail said on why ACIV takes place before ACIII chronologically. He emphasized that there's an important reason Edward is being "researched" by the player, and that even though Desmond Miles' story is officially over (which was planned to happen when it did "since Assassin's Creed I"), his bloodline will remain pivotal to upcoming games. In addition, Ismail let slip that information about "Desmond's life after Assassin's Creed III" would be revealed--making the seemingly clear ending of ACIII quite a bit murkier.

Drink up me 'earties--Black Flag sets sail on October 29th in North American, October 31st in Australia, and November 1st in Europe.

Ashley Reed

Former Associate Editor at GamesRadar, Ashley is now Lead Writer at Respawn working on Apex Legends. She's a lover of FPS titles, horror games, and stealth games. If you can see her, you're already dead.

Latest in Assassin's Creed
Assassin's Creed Shadows Naoe assassinating target with Tanto skill
Assassin's Creed Shadows' expert difficulty looks like the best way to play since it does way more than just dial up enemy HP bars
Assassin's Creed Shadows screenshot showing female protagonist Naoe
Ubisoft is reportedly laying the groundwork for a new company unit focusing on its most valuable series, including Assassin's Creed
Fujibayashi Naoe looks at her father's hidden blade in Assassin's Creed Shadows as he bestows it to her
Just weeks later, Ubisoft walks back some disappointing Assassin's Creed Shadows news: it will be fully Steam Deck Verified "despite the fact the team thought it would not be the case"
Assassin's Creed Shadows cinematic screenshot
Ubisoft shareholder plans protest in response to mismanagement, Assassin's Creed Shadows delays, and alleged acquisition talks with Microsoft and EA
Key art for Assassin's Creed Rogue Remastered showing Shay Patrick Cormac in a black and red outfit that's a cross between Assassin and Templar armor, with his ship The Morrigan behind him
Assassin's Creed Shadows can wait – I spent 40 hours mopping up the map in the one game in the series everyone skipped
Assassin's Creed games in order: All of the current Assassin's Creed protagonists on a misty white background.
How to play the Assassin's Creed games in order (release date and chronological order)
Latest in News
Ant-Man and the Wasp Quantumania
Paul Rudd gives cryptic response about potentially returning to Marvel for Avengers: Doomsday: "As far as the Russos, they have my number"
Michael B. Jordan as Elijah in the new horror movie, Sinners.
Legendary director Spike Lee says he had "the greatest experience of watching a film in years" with Michael B. Jordan's new vampire horror movie Sinners
First Berserker: Khazan screenshot showing two characters engaged in battle
Compare it to FromSoftware all you want, but the devs on this extremely promising hardcore action RPG say they're making "more than just a Soulslike"
Old School RuneScape Smite collab
MMO scholar puts a $500 bounty on old versions of RuneScape as part of a community archive project: "You might have ALL of the game's lost versions!"
Khazan holding a red glowing sword during the upcoming PS5 game, The First Berserker: Khazan.
"Games are meant to be engaging, not exhausting": Lead dev on promising Soulslike RPG pushes balanced difficulty because "if stress keeps piling up without relief, players will eventually want to quit"
A meeting inside one of Chrono Cross' cathedrals
There's never been a better time to play Chrono Trigger than on its 30th anniversary as the all-time JRPG great is just $4 in Steam Spring Sale