13 Years Later, Edward Kenway Returns — Here’s Everything Changed in Black Flag Resynced
A full ground-up remake of the 2013 pirate classic, landing on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC on July 9, 2026. Same Caribbean. Same captain. Different engine.
⚓ July 9, 2026 — Official Ubisoft PageAssassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced is Ubisoft’s first full remake of any entry in the franchise. Led by Ubisoft Singapore — the same studio that co-developed Assassin’s Creed Shadows — the project has been built from scratch on the latest Anvil engine, the same version that powered Shadows. The original 2013 game was developed by Ubisoft Montreal and used the AnvilNext engine. This is not a remaster or a port.
Open-world action games have moved on considerably since 2013, and Resynced reflects that — with reworked combat, expanded stealth, new parkour moves, and three brand-new story characters joining Edward Kenway aboard the Jackdaw. Matt Ryan, the original and only voice actor for Edward, returns with new recorded lines throughout the game.
Ubisoft has confirmed Resynced does not include multiplayer or the Freedom Cry DLC, as the focus is entirely on Edward’s core Caribbean campaign. The original Black Flag remains available for purchase separately for those who want those modes.
By the numbers
Resynced at a Glance
What’s changed
The Jackdaw Gets an Overhaul — Tap to Explore
Select a category below to see what Ubisoft Singapore has changed, added, or rebuilt in Resynced.
Faster, More Strategic Combat
Edward moves noticeably faster in Resynced, and the combat now leans on parry mechanics to break enemy guards. Think of it as a hybrid of classic Black Flag with the fluidity seen in Assassin’s Creed Shadows. Rather than brute-forcing through large groups, players need to read enemies and counter at the right moment.
The game also adds a new enemy archetype — the Demolitionist — along with visceral new takedown animations, a quick-fire rope dart, and chained pistol moves. Up to four takedowns can be chained together in a sequence.
Stealth Finally Works How You’d Expect
The original Black Flag launched before Assassin’s Creed Unity introduced manual crouching. Resynced fixes that — Edward can now crouch freely at any time, on any terrain. Combined with an “Observe Mode” that extends Eagle Vision, and the ability to dive and approach from water, stealth finally has proper tools.
The most welcome change: failing a tailing or eavesdropping mission no longer causes an instant desync. Instead of restarting, the target reacts dynamically — running away, triggering a fight, or dropping clues Edward can loot. The mission adapts rather than ending.
Ejects, Manual Jumps, and Faster Movement
Resynced adds parkour moves that were absent from the original Black Flag — ejects in particular allow Edward to leap sideways or backwards off surfaces to reach otherwise inaccessible ledges. There’s also a manual jump input and what Ubisoft calls “height-gaining back ejects.” Interrupts between parkour moves are now quicker, making freerunning feel more responsive.
These additions bring Black Flag’s traversal closer in line with older titles like Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood while keeping the natural flow of more recent entries.
New Scenes, New Characters, Same Kenway
Ubisoft describes Resynced as a “faithful remake” and “not an RPG.” The core story of Welsh privateer Edward Kenway — set between 1715 and 1722 during the Golden Age of Piracy — is unchanged. What’s added is layered around it: a new scene featuring Edward’s wife Caroline, written specifically for Resynced by Darby McDevitt, the lead writer of the original game.
The Blackbeard and Stede Bonnet storyline, touched on briefly in the 2013 original, receives expanded attention. The modern-day Animus sections have been reworked to focus on Edward’s internal journey rather than the broader Abstergo narrative. Creative Director Paul Fu described this as “focusing on Edward’s journey while still connecting his memories to the Animus.”
Full Visual Rebuild on the Anvil Engine
Every graphical asset has been rebuilt from scratch to support Micropolygon and Physically Based Rendering (PBR) pipelines. The game includes Raytraced Lighting with Global Illumination (RTGI) and reflections, fully modernized water rendering, and the Anvil Atmos system for dynamic weather. Destructible environmental objects — signs swaying in wind, coconuts rolling during storms, ship sails billowing — bring the Caribbean to life in ways not possible in 2013.
On PC, the game supports the latest upscaling and frame generation technologies. For players without hardware-accelerated raytracing GPUs, software raytracing options allow them to still experience advanced lighting. Dedicated graphics presets for handheld devices are also included.
“We were extremely impressed with the enhanced PSSR. It really redefines the graphics experience in console games. It allowed us to render our dynamic tropical world full of swaying palm trees, violent storms and rogue waves without visible upscaling artifacts, delivering sharp pixel quality and great image stability.”
— Jussi Markkanen, Technical Director, Ubisoft Singapore (via PlayStation Blog)“Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag Resynced pushes ray tracing further across all modes on PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 5 Pro. PlayStation 5 brings more consistent lighting, while PlayStation 5 Pro delivers a no-compromise experience with advanced ray tracing performance and enhanced PSSR.”
— Nicolas Lopez, Technical Architect, Ubisoft Montréal (via PlayStation Blog)PC requirements
What PC Do You Need?
Select a target resolution and framerate below to see the required hardware. A one-time internet connection is needed to install; after that, the full campaign plays offline. An SSD is mandatory at all tiers.
or AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz
AMD RX 5500 XT (8GB)
Intel Arc A580 (8GB)
Software raytracing options allow entry-level GPUs to access advanced lighting without hardware RT support.
or AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz
AMD RX 6600 XT (8GB)
Intel Arc B580 (12GB)
or AMD Ryzen 5 5600X 3.7 GHz
or AMD RX 6800 XT (16GB)
or AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D 3.0 GHz
or AMD RX 7900 XTX (24GB)
PS5 & PS5 Pro
Console Graphics Modes — Select One
PS5 offers three graphics modes. All three include Raytraced Global Illumination. PS5 Pro additionally delivers enhanced PSSR and higher-tier RT across all modes. Tap a card to see details.
Targets 60 frames per second for responsive combat and sailing. Raytraced Global Illumination is active in this mode. PS5 Pro users get enhanced PSSR upscaling, which improves visual sharpness without dropping frames.
Prioritizes visual quality at 30 FPS. This mode adds raytraced reflections on top of the RTGI that’s present in all modes. Best suited for those who want the sharpest Caribbean visuals over frame rate.
Available only on displays that support 120Hz refresh rates. Sits between Performance and Fidelity — a middle ground for players with compatible screens who want both smoother gameplay and better visuals than 30 FPS allows.
Available editions
Standard, Deluxe, or Collector’s?
- Base game (PS5 / Xbox Series X|S / PC)
- Full offline main campaign
- Pre-order: Blackbeard’s Crimson Pack (Edward costume, swords, pistols)
- Available digitally and physically
- Base game
- Master Assassin Character Pack
- Master Assassin Naval Pack
- Pre-order: Blackbeard’s Crimson Pack
- Everything in Deluxe Edition
- Edward Kenway figurine
- Edward’s wearable metal brooch
- Exclusive SteelBook®
- Cloth map of the Caribbean
- Diary-style notebook with Edward’s entries
Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced was announced officially on April 23, 2026, via a dedicated showcase hosted by Matt Ryan. The show covered new gameplay features, the Collector’s Edition contents, developer interviews, and a performance from GRAMMY-nominated French musician Woodkid, who contributed a reimagined track for the remake. The game is available on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via the Ubisoft Store, Steam, and the Epic Games Store — and included on Ubisoft+ on day one. Cloud streaming is also available via Nvidia GeForce Now and Blacknut.
The piece above covered the release date, platform list, new gameplay systems, PS5 graphics modes, PC system requirements, the three new officer characters, story additions, and the available editions for Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced. For players interested in other upcoming open-world releases, see our coverage of Crimson Desert’s latest patch and the Night City 2045 Cyberpunk Red sourcebook. For context on what else is happening in the Ubisoft ecosystem, our earlier report on Xbox Game Pass pricing changes has more background on where console gaming subscriptions currently stand.