Ubisoft is prepared to deliver yet another Assassin’s Creed game, but this will be a pretty big one. It is rumored to be the end of the “Ancients” series. That means it’ll likely be the last one that deals with the over-the-top mythical content. In fact, referred to under the codename “Assassin’s Creed Legion,” this could be the perfect mix between the AC of old and new. If that is not something to be interested in, we do not know what is. As of the game’s rumored development in early 2019, it is being led by the Ubisoft Sofia branch. They first worked on an AC game with Liberation and then headed up Rogue. The team also worked in collaboration with other studios on Black Flag but has since not worked on an AC game. Instead, Ubisoft has had this studio work on other projects.
The real issue when it comes to Assassin’s Creed Legion is where they plan to go in history. If this is supposed to end the mythical content, then focus on the AC of old more, there must be a good place to do that. The plan is to do this in Rome, considering that is where the most popular character in AC ends up coming from, Ezio Auditore da Firenze. Okay, technically Ezio is from another portion of Italy known as Florence or the Republic of Florence (depending on the time in history). However, a lot of his story centers around Rome. Therefore, it makes sense to get back to this area. The problem with rumors beyond this is that there is nothing more to go off of that’s completely solid. We’re going to the Roman Empire, but when?
Rumored Timeframe: The Year Of 5 Emperors
It is currently rumored that Assassin’s Creed Legion will take place during the latter days of Marcus Aurelius and the rise of his son Commodus. Historically, Aurelius is considered one of the greatest emperors in world history. He truly lived out Plato’s vision of a “philosopher-king.” In fact, you can read some of his stoic philosophical work in the book Meditations. It comes from his notes and other writings from nearly 2,000 years ago. Trust us, it’s well worth your time to read it. While Marcus was a great ruler, he was actually named co-ruler initially with his brother Lucius Verus. Both took the reigns in 161 AD but Verus sadly died in 169 AD, leaving Marcus as sole ruler. While some assume Marcus was behind it, he passed from a sickness.
The reason the two reigned together was that Marcus proved worthy and was the previous emperor, Antoninus Pius’ nephew. Meanwhile, Verus was the adopted son of former Emperor Hadrian. Since Pius married Hadrian’s niece Faustina and was adopted as his son shortly before passing, he took over when Hadrian died. Verus was young at this point, which is why he did not get the Emperor’s seat. Antoninus corrected all of this when he named Verus co-heir with his nephew. Once Marcus begins to show his age, he knows he needs to make sure his son Commodus is ready to take over for him. This leads to him making his son a co-ruler in 177 AD. Assuming Commodus could learn under his wing, he’s around for everything, even goes to war alongside his father.
The Passing Of Marcus Aurelius:
While the movie Gladiator might make you assume a lot, most of that movie is made-up. Commodus never had his father killed and was saddened by his passing. Marcus did die suddenly in his military quarters, shocking everyone. This could be a way to bring our character into the fold for Assassin’s Creed Legion. He could be a young soldier that finds out a member of the Cult of this game was behind the death. We could see our Assassin work alongside Commodus to find out who did it. There are some rumors surrounding the character for the game too. It’s rumored we can pick between two characters, Cassius or Lucia. Each will be connected to the leads of Assassin’s Creed: Origins & Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey. For example, you could see Cassius as a descendent of Bayak while Lucia could be a descendent of Kassandra.
Every person who had held the Emperor role had been adoptive sons before this, never biological. That made Commodus unique from the start. Commodus will historically be remembered as a bad ruler and nothing like his father, but he was able to stay alive long enough to do many good things for Rome. Yet unlike his giving and very much adored father, Commodus proved to be quite selfish. He eventually takes on a God-like personality, quickly becoming a dictator. Numerous assassination attempts are made but he is able to get past several. That could make him a great foe to start off. Commodus would rule Rome from 176 to 192, ruling alone starting in 180 AD.
Year Of The 5 Emperors:
We can see why Assassin’s Creed Legion might be set in this time. After Commodus is assassinated in 192 AD, several people vie for power in Rome. All of these men are part of a historic year in 193 AD that actually ends up flowing into 194 AD and beyond called “The Year of the 5 Emperors.” It occurs due to a Roman Civil War, leading to several deaths of high-profile officials in Rome. The ruling order is as follows:
- Pertinax (Dec. 192 – March 193)
- Didius Julianus (March – June 193)
- Pescennius Niger (April 193 – May 194)
- Clodius Albinus (March 193 & 196 claim)
- Septimius Severus (April 193 – Feb. 211)
Basically what happened is a domino effect when Pertinax is assassinated. Commodus greatly aided the Pretorian Guard, which is why he lasted as long as he did. Pertinax was a disciplined warrior who realized the guard had too much from Commodus, costing Rome heavily. He revoked these privileges too early in his attempt to right the bad financial ship Rome faced. Causing the Pretorian Guard to murder him. Once he dies, several make claims to the throne. Two men stood to gain the most from Pertinax’s death, Didius Julianus & Pescennis Niger. Both were logical choices to be picked for the throne. Julianus was proconsul to Africa and had the military on his side as he claimed he’d pay them the most. Pescennius was the Governor of Syria, a major hub at this point in history. Julianus had the guard, allowing him to become Emperor for about nine weeks until he was killed. This happened after Septimius Severus, along with troops and several supports along the way, marched on the Roman Capitol. In our opinion, this could be an epic way to bring in our character for Assassin’s Creed Legion.
The Reign Of Septimius Severus:
As a result of this move, Severus is declared Emperor and has the people on his side. Since he’d win out this war of the emperors, it makes sense for our character to be connected to his rise to power. Of course, Severus still had to stop the advances of Pescennius Niger. He also had to stop the advances of Clodius Albinus, who had absolutely no claim to the throne. He did have military support, but many of these people were also behind Severus or Niger. This dude named himself Emperor and did not have near the support of others, causing him to give up for a bit. Once no one bought into things, he seemed to give up. But when Pescennius is killed by Severus’ army (which could be our assassin), Albinus declares himself Emperor again a few years later in 196. The result is that Severus goes to war with Albinus in 197 where Severus comes out victorious.
It is clear that these few years could be a fun thing to play through for our character in Assassin’s Creed Legion. That’s only IF it takes place at this time in history. It would make a lot of sense to come in right as Marcus passes and Commodus takes over the throne. Having to deal with the horrors of his reign and then the turmoil of this period in history? It sounds fun! But there might be another period in Roman history that could be even cooler!
Reign Of Tiberius: 14-37 AD
If Assassin’s Creed Legion wants to really stand out, they might want to consider 14 to 68 AD. After the great Emperor Augustus passes, the throne is taken by Tiberius who had to live in a massive shadow. This is not an easy thing to deal with and results in several problems. The man is paranoid but more importantly, he hates when you disagree with him or challenge his mindset. That led to what is known as the “treason trials.” These were basically BS trials that involved pretty much nothing except for challenging Tiberius’ mindset. Heck, you could just say you did not like his hair and if someone heard it and reported you, Tiberius would bring you to the court. Pretty much all of these trials led to execution, but if you were lucky you might get exile from Rome! Awesome stuff, right? It was massively unpopular.
Tiberius was technically the adoptive son of Augustus. He married Tiberius’ mother, who divorced Tiberius’ father even though pregnant with their second child. This made Tiberius the rightful heir to the throne. While he entered politics early in life, his gift was truly war. On the battlefield, he gained major victories that edged into Germania, something Julius Ceasar could not do. Tiberius did not want to be involved in politics or even involved in battle by 6 B.C. and retired from it all. A huge squabble happened when Augustus adopted Julia the Elder’s sons. Julia was Tiberius’ wife, though an unhappy one. He realized this was a major move that would lead to him ruling until the sons came of age, then be pushed out. That is what many believe upset Tiberius enough to leave everything. This is the type of drama Assassin’s Creed Legion could explore.
Tiberius & Caligula:
Things worked out enough when Augustus essentially begged Tiberius to come back. Yet they agreed that Tiberius would become Augustus’ full son and only heir, with the provision that he adopt the son of his brother Drusus & Augustus’ niece, Antonia Minor (the Younger). Basically, his nephew, a man named Germanicus. By the time Tiberius was to take the throne, he’d be in his 50s, so this made sense. Rome would be guaranteed a proper person to take over should something happen to Tiberius. However, this was also done because Germanicus was a very popular military veteran that the people loved. He was also older than Tiberius’ only son. When Tiberius takes the throne, he eventually grows tired of Germanicus being in the back waiting when his own son could take the throne instead, so he has him killed. However, Tiberius’ son then dies mysteriously a few years later, leading to a problem.
He already had the very vocal wife of Germanicus exiled, along with his daughters. His older sons are pretty much killed, whether through execution or prison problems. But another son was left, the youngest, a man named Caligula. Tiberius then grows frightened and paranoid by those around him and leaves Rome for his villa on the island of Capri. He never stepped foot in the city again. Tiberius then sends for Caligula, because his grandson is too young to lead and grew up spoiled. While history is fuzzy on this, it is stated that Tiberius gets sick and Caligula takes advantage of this and finishes him off. Some say Tiberius was poisoned while others say he just died from a random sickness. He was in his 70s, of course.
Caligula – The Mad Emperor: 37-41 AD
Before he died, Tiberius stated in his will that he wanted Caligula and Tiberius Gemellus (his grandson) co-rulers of Rome. But his will was changed by one of the pretorian guards. Instead of killing Gemellus, he names him his heir. The guy was still a teenager then. It can be imagined how this could turn out in an Assassin’s Creed Legion game, where we wonder what will happen next. While he was massively popular at first, Caligula begins to enjoy his lavish lifestyle. Even having “relations” with Senator’s wives and having prostitutes around a lot. Eventually, he gets sick and goes into a coma. Roughly 24 years old and less than a year in, the emperor could be gone. This type of drama could play out well in Assassin’s Creed Legion as we try and make it seem like someone did this to him, such a person from a mysterious cult we’re fighting in the game.
Caligula recovers, but this seemingly made him go mad. His decisions become erratic, and that leads him to believe Gemellus tried to poison him. Causing him to essentially be murdered. Soon after, he worries about having an heir. On the move of his sister Agrippina, he begins a sexual relationship with her as well as his other two sisters. Even by this time, incestual relationships were a no-go for Roman citizens. Caligula pushes heavily into this and eventually, his favorite sister Drusilla becomes pregnant. She sadly dies of a fever, ending both the life of the baby and the life of his favored sister. Going through a deep depression and only going madder, no one knows what to do. The man makes his horse Consul at one point. This was after a major issue with the Roman Senate.
Caligula Ended:
Caligula eventually brings back the Treason Trials, only making him hated by the people of Rome. Through this, he gradually takes out Senators and others in his way. Potentially tens of thousands were sent to their end through this. Something has to happen. His debaucherous lifestyle only continues. Caligula continued to enjoy his lavish lifestyle but the coffers run dry, causing him to raise taxes. This only makes the people hate him more. It would be interesting to see how our character in Assassin’s Creed Legion tries to reason the ideology behind trying to save Caligula and wanting him dead themselves. Of course, one assassination plot comes about. His two sisters, Agrippina & Livella with their cousin and Drusilla’s widower Lepidus, plot to end Caligula. This is referred to as the “Plot of Three Daggers.”
Agrippina, selfish for power the entire time, rats out the other two to get back into the good graces of her brother. Whom she yet again tries to get back in bed with to deliver an heir and attempt to become an Empress through. However, Caligula does not buy her BS and has her arrested with the other two. Lepidus is executed while his sisters are sent into exile. Eventually, a true assassination happens to Caligula. We could rewrite history a bit here for Assassin’s Creed Legion. Where Caligula could be killed by our main protagonist. Potentially using Claudius, the eventual Emperor, as our main aid for this.
Nero: The Most Evil Man In History (54-68 AD)
Once Caligula is murdered, he is without an heir but his uncle Claudius is the most sensible choice. He was acting Consul, the brother of Tiberius’ original heir Germanicus, and the uncle to the Emperor. He takes over and does a very good job as Emperor, but he has one problem that consistently plagues him. Claudius married power-hungry women who ran all over him. After going through the best options, all of which sucked, he eventually married his niece. You might know her, Agrippina. Yes, that power-hungry b-word that rhymes with “ditch.” Claudius had removed his nieces from their exile years earlier, and Agrippina actually tried to get with future Roman Emperor, Galba. He didn’t want anything to do with her though. She did manage to get in the pants of the very influential Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus though.
Domitius happened to be the son of Antonia Major. She was Octavia Minor’s daughter, who happened to be Augustus’ oldest sister. Antonia’s father was actually Mark Antony, seriously. Thus, this was the grandson of Antony with direct ties to Augustus, making him a perfect pick for the power-hungry Agrippina. Yet she was actually married off to him around the age of 13 and it was a loveless marriage due to the wide age difference. But she did have her son Nero in 37 AD with him. Caligula actually took Nero’s inheritance for himself once Domitius died, but Claudius restored this. This could be an interesting way to bring another assassin into play for Assassin’s Creed Legion. They could come up during the reign of Claudius who served as Emperor from 41-54 AD. Then come into their own during Nero’s time.
Agrippina – The Empress
Claudius eventually marries Agrippina, his niece. Without a true heir, he’s convinced to adopt Nero as his son. Shortly after this, Agrippina poisons Claudius to kill him. It is said that this did not work and he was poisoned again by her or his doctor, but the details are sketchy. This could very well be a moment in Assassin’s Creed Legion where we could put the Cult into the fold. Have them be behind the poisoning with Agrippina and Nero as the main leaders of this band of misfits. Due to Nero being adopted by Cladius and then married to Claudius’ only daughter, Claudia Octavia, he was the only person that could be Emperor. However, he was too young to rule properly. The boy Emperor’s regent would be his mother, Agrippina. She’d remain Empress and rule Rome. Yet Nero did have his fun as ruler even while younger. Taking the throne at 17, he was more than capable.
This is when Assassin’s Creed Legion would become absolutely awesome, as this is the point in Roman history when Nero comes into his own. This ladies and gentlemen….is primetime Nero. Fearing potential issues from family, he had his brother Britannicus killed. A few years later, Agrippina decided she was done ruling but Nero constantly overheard people calling her “Empress” while he led Rome as Emperor. He magically uncovered a plot on his life by his mother. Whether true or not, he forgave her and sent her off to retirement in his own boat. A boat that he had rigged to sink.
Nero – The Mad Tyrant
While history is fuzzy on if his mother survived the sinking boat, we do not she does not live past this day. It is claimed Nero sent an assassin to end her just in case. That could be a member of the enemy cult for Assassin’s Creed Legion too. The events that followed under Nero are, historically, incredible. Among many things Nero has done, here’s a small list:
- Instituted Juvenalia, Games In Honor Of His Own Beard (he had enough to shave and made this known)
- Used Roman Treasury To Build His 100-acre Complex (The Golden House) After The Great Fire Of Rome
- In That Villa To Himself, He Added A 100ft Statue Of Himself
- Was A Violent, Sick & Twisted Lover That Killed A Few Prostitutes
- Burned Christians Alive & Used Them To Illuminate His Garden At Night
One instance in history, Nero would latch up naked boys & girls to stakes. He would put on the hide of a wild beast and attack them, brutally biting off and devouring parts of their respective bodies. After falling in love with Poppaea Sabina, Nero had his first wife Octavia killed for supposed adultery. Then a bit before his wife Poppaea had their second child, Nero decided to randomly kick her to death. While she was his “great love,” he did it anyway. Distraught by this, he randomly came across a man named Sporus who looked a little like Poppaea. He looked a little like Poppae, so Nero had him castrated and brought back to his palace to basically become his wife.
Mr. 666
Regarding burning Christians, he actually blamed them for the “great fire.” Some claim Nero caused it, but this is not really true. It was widely assumed though since he literally built his 100-acre home on top of the destroyed city. Rome’s coffers were not big enough, so he raised taxes (always popular) and stole valuable items from temples. Due to many plots against him rising, he decided to order the murder of several around him. One was actually the beloved Stoic and Nero’s own tutor, Seneca. Nero was eventually on the outs and the Roman Senate, as well as the military outside the palace, was quickly turning on him. Due to this, he tried to get the heck out of there but no more allies remained. This led Nero to commit suicide.
Interestingly, a man by the name of John is said to have written a small Christian text called the Book of Revelation. He speaks of an Anti-Christ as well as a beast. All of this is actually an allegory, connecting to the Roman Empire. The 666 number of the Anti-Christ is actually Nero. In both Hebrew & Greek, it was believed that letters had a number connected to them. Through this, Nero’s full name in both versions ends up being 666 each. Seriously, there could not be a better real-life foe for our assassin to take down Assassin’s Creed Legion than Nero. Absolutely no one!
The Legion
The wide assumption though is that this could be a game that bounces around through all of this. You might have heard of another Ubisoft game called Watchdogs: Legion. It allowed us to recruit anyone and play as them as part of a team. What if a version of that, just spread out in Roman history, is possible? This could be a game preparing us for the new Assassin’s Creed: Infinity. A live service that is supposedly going to include all assassins and add new missions to some of our favorites, while introducing others. All throughout a given year. It will certainly be interesting to see. The assumption is that this new Assassin’s Creed Legion game could be out sometime this year or Fall of 2022.Ubisoftbeyond this
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