Assassin's Creed Codename Mars Leaked: Ancient Rome Setting Revealed

Reliable Ubisoft insider xj0nathan has shared a video detailing two unannounced Assassin's Creed projects, with the headline grab being a mainline entry codenamed Mars set in Ancient Rome. The leak, highlighted by Redditor Gyatto- on the GamingLeaksAndRumours subreddit, marks the first time the franchise would explore the ancient iteration of the eternal city — previous entry Assassin's Creed Brotherhood visited Rome during the 1500s. For players who have spent years requesting this specific historical playground, the setting alone represents a significant milestone, though the project remains firmly in rumor territory until Ubisoft confirms it officially.

The timing of this leak arrives during an unusually quiet period for Assassin's Creed roadmap visibility. After a stretch where Ubisoft revealed two major mainline games back-to-back alongside a Black Flag remake and multiple spinoffs, the publisher has gone conspicuously silent on what follows Assassin's Creed Hexe. That silence makes this leak feel more consequential than the average rumor — it fills a vacuum that Ubisoft's own communications have left open, and the source's track record gives it enough weight that industry watchers are taking it seriously rather than dismissing it outright.

What Was Leaked

The centerpiece of xj0nathan's video is Codename Mars, described as a mainline Assassin's Creed entry set in Ancient Rome. The insider provided limited additional details beyond the time period and project name, but the setting itself carries substantial implications. Ancient Rome has been one of the most requested historical settings in the franchise's history, and its absence from the mainline series has been conspicuous — especially given the series' willingness to tackle ancient Egypt, ancient Greece, and the Viking age. The codename "Mars" follows Ubisoft's pattern of using planetary or mythological codenames during early development, lending the leak internal consistency with past projects.

Alongside the mainline reveal, xj0nathan detailed a mobile project titled Assassin's Creed Pocket set in Jerusalem. The gameplay reportedly resembles Valhalla's Mastery Challenges — focused, skill-based combat and traversal trials rather than a full open-world experience. Visually, the mobile title allegedly draws inspiration from Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, suggesting a 2.5D side-scrolling aesthetic with high-fidelity art direction. Jerusalem as a setting also carries franchise weight, having appeared in the original Assassin's Creed but not as the primary locale of a dedicated release since.

What It Could Mean

The Ancient Rome setting for Codename Mars invites immediate comparison to Assassin's Creed Odyssey, which explored ancient Greece with a heavy RPG focus, naval combat, and a massive map spanning islands and mainland. If Mars follows a similar template, players could expect a recreation of the Roman Republic or early Empire at scale — the Forum, the Colosseum, the Appian Way, and potentially provinces beyond Italy proper. The confirmed Netflix series also set in Ancient Rome raises the possibility of transmedia coordination, something Ubisoft has experimented with before but never at this level of synchronization between a mainline game and a streaming production.

Assassin's Creed Pocket's Mastery Challenge-style gameplay suggests Ubisoft is continuing to experiment with mobile formats that distill core mechanics into repeatable, score-chasing loops rather than condensed narrative experiences. The Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown visual comparison is particularly notable — that game's crisp animation and distinctive art direction were widely praised, and applying that standard to a mobile Assassin's Creed title would represent a quality bar well above typical licensed mobile fare. Jerusalem as the setting also opens narrative doors to the Crusades era or earlier periods, though the leak does not specify the exact timeframe.

History and Context

Insider xj0nathan has established a reliable track record on Ubisoft projects, and the GamingLeaksAndRumours community's amplification of the video suggests the community views the source as credible. The leak gains additional corroboration from Insider Gaming, which published a separate report backing the Codename Mars claim and adding that Assassin's Creed Hexe has been internally delayed to 2028. That delay pushes the next confirmed mainline title years into the future, making Mars — if real — an even more distant prospect. The Hexe delay also aligns with Ubisoft's recent pattern of giving ambitious projects extended development windows, a shift from the annualized cadence that defined the franchise's early years.

The franchise's history with Rome adds context to the Mars leak. Assassin's Creed Brotherhood (2010) remains a fan favorite partly for its dense, vertical recreation of Renaissance Rome, but that game's 1500s setting is separated from antiquity by over a millennium. An Ancient Rome game would let the series explore the city at its imperial zenith — a fundamentally different architectural and cultural landscape. The Odyssey comparison is apt not just for gameplay but for scope: Odyssey's Greece felt alive with political intrigue, mythological integration, and regional variety. Rome at its height offers comparable density — the Senate, the legions, the provinces, the games, the transition from Republic to Empire — all ripe for the series' blend of historical tourism and conspiratorial fiction.

Until Ubisoft breaks its silence, Codename Mars and Assassin's Creed Pocket remain unconfirmed. The Hexe delay to 2028 suggests any formal announcement for Mars is unlikely in the immediate future — Ubisoft typically spaces major reveals to avoid cannibalizing attention. The next major showcase window, whether a Ubisoft Forward or a partner event, will be the moment to watch. For now, the leak stands as the clearest picture yet of where the franchise intends to plant its flag next, and Ancient Rome is a destination that has been a long time coming.