Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced Game Director Promises 6 Extra Hours of Content and Deeper Pirate Exploration

At the recent Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced hands-on event organized by Ubisoft in San Francisco, California, Wccftech had the opportunity to interview Richard Knight, the Game Director of this highly anticipated remake. Knight, whose Ubisoft Singapore credits include Assassin's Creed: Shadows, Mirage, and Skull and Bones, said the goal was to focus the remake on Edward Kenway’s story and adventure. That meant modern technical upgrades, a more seamless open world, and a handful of new gameplay additions, while trimming elements such as multiplayer and the original game's modern-day stuff.

The result, he said, is meant to feel like a version of Black Flag that still respects the original but plays as though it were designed today. Ubisoft has added new content (and Knight told us exactly how long it will take to complete it), earlier access to some abilities, and quality-of-life features, but the emphasis remains on delivering a more focused and contemporary take on one of Assassin's Creed's most beloved entries. Scroll down for the full transcript; as a reminder, Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced launches on July 9 on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series S|X.

What other projects have you worked on at Ubisoft Singapore?

Richard Knight: Specifically, I worked on Assassin's Creed Shadows before this, and prior to that, Assassin's Creed Mirage and Skull and Bones.

The Remake Philosophy

What was the mentality behind giving Assassin's Creed IV a full remake treatment, whereas Rogue only received a remaster?

Richard Knight: There is significantly more work in a remake. You need much more ambition regarding what you want to build. When you look at everything a game has, specifically Black Flag, it plays very well, but it is just old enough that you can dream a little. Everyone loves that game, but we questioned what would happen if we took it, put it into the modern Anvil engine, and utilized all the technology that comes with it.

It allows you to start wondering about new possibilities, such as simple features like being able to crouch anywhere, adding ray tracing, or significantly improving the water experience. It allows you to transform a classic game into something modern. By a remake, I mean asking, "If we were to rebuild this today, what would it look like?" That is basically what we did. It is a lot more work than a remaster, but I hope that dream shows through as something exciting that feels up to modern standards.

Technological Advancements

At this point, Black Flag is essentially two and a half console generations after its original release. There have been many technological changes since the original game came out.

Richard Knight: There have been a lot of RAM changes, too. One of the great benefits of switching to the new engine and utilizing this new generation of power is that there are far more things you can achieve. Back in the old days, you could only do one of those things at a time. You would pick a feature at the expense of everything else. Now, we can do them all at once: we can allow diving anywhere, create a seamless world, implement dynamic weather, and include features like ray tracing or global illumination. They all require work, but with current consoles, you do not have to pick just one and discard the rest. It is a massive technical upgrade that people will appreciate.

Are there any features of the modern Anvil engine making their debut in Black Flag Resynced?

Richard Knight: Most of the time, it is not about delivering something completely brand new that has never been seen before. The great thing about our Anvil tech team is that it is a centralized group helping different games across the studio. Usually, when they start working on a feature, they are already developing it on various projects in different places, so we adopt what fits our game.

One thing that feels new, even if it isn't strictly its debut, is software ray tracing. If you have a weaker video card and want to try it, it is now an option. You can still revert to baked lighting if it helps with performance, but having software ray tracing is a great technical feature that many will appreciate.

Will there be a PlayStation 5 Pro enhanced version?

Richard Knight: For sure, we support the PlayStation 5 Pro. I own a PS5 Pro myself, so we definitely want to support features like PSSR2. You will also get all the other performance and detail benefits that come with the PS5 Pro.

Narrative & Focus Cuts

The "black sheep" aspect of Black Flag Resynced is the omission of multiplayer and some modern-day Animus content. At what point in the design process did you decide to remove the present-day focus?

Richard Knight: Basically at the beginning. It is in the name, "Resynced". It is not called "Black Flag Remake". We knew early on that if we were going to do this big remake, we had to pick one thing and do it exceptionally well: Edward. That meant focusing entirely on Edward as a character, his story, and his gameplay. Consequently, we had to leave other elements, like multiplayer, to the rest of the brand.

We knew we still needed some modern-day elements, but we view Black Flag Resynced as happening now, as the next major Assassin's Creed game after Shadows. The original Black Flag (AC4) is still available to buy and play if you want to know what happened to Desmond and his friends. It doesn't make sense for us to recount Desmond's story out of order.

Instead, we had two goals for our modern day: first, to continue a bit of what Shadows was doing, and second, to tie it directly into Edward's adventure. We want you to always feel like you are playing Black Flag, rather than taking a two-hour break to do something else. That is why we have these "rifts" that tell "what-if" scenarios for Edward and his friends, allowing you to reflect back on the game while engaging with the modern-day digital framework. You remain closely tied to the main adventure.

Would Freedom Cry fit in as one of these rifts?

Richard Knight: That is an interesting question, but I do not treat Freedom Cry as a rift. Freedom Cry is Adéwalé's adventure, taking place at a specific point in the timeline. It is a separate story to tell. Even though Adéwalé is a key character in our game (and the voice actor is back), we knew early on that we could not split the focus. Splitting the focus between Adéwalé and Edward would detract from Edward's experience. We will see what the future brings, but for now, the focus is solely on Edward.

Will Aveline show up as a character in Resynced?

Richard Knight: No, for the same reason. There are definitely Aveline fans in the office, but fully realizing her in the engine with all the updated technology and detail would take away from the time needed to nail the core Black Flag experience. That is why we focused entirely on Edward.

Would you say the focus for Black Flag Resynced is the game as it originally launched, rather than the Season Pass content that came later?

Richard Knight: Yes. I believe we have some costumes and elements from the original downloadable content (DLC), but our main effort is focused entirely on that core Black Flag experience.

Game Length & Open World Exploration

You have talked a lot about the new content coming to Resynced. Roughly how long is the main Black Flag experience, and how much new content does Resynced add?

Richard Knight: The length of the core game varies by player. It generally takes anywhere between 15 and 40 hours, depending heavily on how much you engage with the seamless open world. Because it is entirely seamless now, players can go anywhere. Some might just engage with the pirate mechanics for hours on end. In terms of new content, Resynced adds around 6 hours of content via new quests, officer quests, and similar activities. We have also added a profound layer of detail to the world, so we hope players spend far more than just those 6 hours.

If a player uses the diving bell to explore underwater, how fleshed out is that experience compared to the smaller, discrete locales in the original game?

Richard Knight: We have two types of underwater gameplay. First, you can dive anywhere in the open ocean, much like in modern Assassin's Creed titles: you simply stop the ship, dive overboard, and swim around. Second, the diving bell is used specifically to reach targeted underwater wrecks, which act as bespoke locations. Each of these locations is structurally similar in size to the original game, but dramatically enhanced graphically. The water appears richer, there are more fish, and the entire core experience is visually much more believable.

Progression, Combat, & Customization

Have you worked on the progression systems regarding unlocking new abilities and skills, specifically the side upgrades beyond the core abilities?

Richard Knight: Authenticity was a major focus from the beginning. In a modern remake, changes are inevitable, but we established strict guidelines based on original creative director Jean Guesdon's vision and my own personal rule: "What would Edward do?" We wanted elements that fit his personality. Edward's story is about driving forward despite making mistakes, so we avoided turning it into a full RPG to maintain that narrative focus. We kept the original progression systems, such as upgrading the Jackdaw and crafting gear for Edward, without adding massive new overhauls.

What we did introduce is mild character specialization through trinkets. Your swords and trinkets now offer minor perks that assist with combat, stealth, or other playstyles. These are strictly optional. Costumes are purely cosmetic, leaving the performance perks to the trinkets and weapons.

A core endgame experience in an Assassin's Creed game typically involves completing side objectives to acquire an ultimate piece of armor. Will that be purely cosmetic this time, or will there be unique trinkets tied to those quest lines?

Richard Knight: The Templar and Mayan armor quests remain as core endgame activities. However, their gameplay perks have been moved to the trinkets, allowing you to get the best of both worlds. Wearing the Mayan armor itself is cosmetic, while the associated trinket provides the actual gameplay effect, such as deflecting bullets, which is an iconic feature we wanted to preserve. The same logic applies to the Templar armor. Furthermore, I believe we support weapon transmogrification for swords, similar to Assassin's Creed: Shadows.

Having early access to Edward's tools, especially the rope dart, will be highly exciting. How does that alter the way players approach combat throughout the experience?

Richard Knight: The rope dart is an exceptional tool, but because it appeared so late in the original game, we decided early on to introduce it sooner. We found the right narrative moment to give it to the player, which fundamentally transforms combat choices. We wanted to make sure it had a highly practical gameplay loop, so it effectively functions as an anti-firearm mechanic. If an enemy aims a gun at you, throwing the rope dart knocks them back and breaks their defense. In chaotic fights where enemies are throwing bombs and shooting, having a tool to defuse that threat adds a great layer of mastery to combat.

It's great to have more defensive options beyond using a human shield. Will there be more sea shanties this time around?

Richard Knight: Yes, we have definitely added more sea shanties. Because we added so many, we realized selecting them might become tedious, so we implemented a "shanty player" mechanic. By holding down a button on the D-pad, a scroll wheel appears that allows you to easily select the specific shanty you want to hear. Instead of cycling randomly through 30 or 40 tracks, you can navigate them directly, which is a massive quality-of-life improvement.

Regarding the new customization options for the Jackdaw, what is your favorite masthead?

Richard Knight: We keep adding new ones, so there are options I have only seen a few times in the current build. Some are still receiving their final touches right now, so you will have to wait and see. Personally, I am a fan of designs featuring animals, like a cat, but there are so many excellent choices that I cannot pick a definitive favorite yet.

To clarify one final detail, does the game support visual transmogrification across all items?

Richard Knight: Similar to Assassin's Creed Shadows, we support visual transmogrification. While this applies to weapons like swords, it will not apply to armor costumes, since costumes are strictly cosmetic and do not have stat-altering effects.

Thank you for your time.

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