Assassin's Creed: Valhalla

This article is about the game. For other uses, see Assassin's Creed: Valhalla (disambiguation).

Assassin's Creed: Valhalla is the twelfth main installment in the Assassin's Creed series developed by Ubisoft. In the game, the player takes control of Eivor Varinsdottir, a Viking from Norway who participated in the Norse invasion of England during the 9th century.

Plot synopsis

Driven from Norway by endless wars and dwindling resources in the ninth century CE, players will lead Eivor's clan of Norsemen across the icy North Sea to the rich lands of England's broken kingdoms. Players must carve out a new future for their clan, reliving the ruthless fighting style of Viking warriors with a revamped combat system that includes the ability to dual-wield weapons against a greater variety of enemies than ever before.

To secure resources players can lead raids to select locations using their longship to earn much-needed riches and resources. As the Vikings begin to settle in their new home, they encounter resistance from the Saxons including King Aelfred of Wessex, who denounces them as heathens and looks to be the sole ruler of a civilized England. Against all odds, Eivor must do what is necessary to keep Valhalla within reach.

Gameplay

Set in 873 CE, Valhalla has players take the role of Eivor, a Viking Raider and Clan Leader of the Norsemen who can be played either as male or female. The game retains the dialogue choice and NPC relationship elements from Assassin's Creed: Odyssey, with new elements such as forging political alliances with NPC clans. Every choice and decision of the players affects the world of the game in real time. Players can travel from the cold shores of Norway to England.

Eivor is able to equip an assortment of weapons, and dual wield many of them; Eivor can also use a Hidden Blade in combat, a returning feature from Origins.

Eivor can develop their own settlement and build and upgrade structures such as tattoo shops and barracks, they can also recruit new members of their clan and can train their own army for raids or other missions.

The player is able to build a raiding party by recruiting non-player characters to assist with these. Though the use of naval transport has returned, naval combat has been dialed back. Eivor's longship will act more as a means of travel when performing raids and for escaping after land combat, rather than being used in combat with other naval vessels. Players can take part in activities like drinking games, hunting or traditional Norse games such as flyting. A player is able to create a Viking mercenary that can be recruited by other players, acting as a non-playable character within those games; the player gains additional in-game rewards for successful missions.

Development

Ubisoft Montreal was the lead development studio on Valhalla, working with other 14 studios on the game. This included external developer Sperasoft. The game having been in-development for 2 years as of April 2020 was led by Assassin's Creed: Origins and Black Flag creative director Ashraf Ismail. However, amid allegations of multiple counts of infidelity and sexual misconduct in late June 2020, Ashraf stepped down from his position, citing personal issues impacting his family. Darby McDevitt served as Valhalla's narrative director, and while aware of the similarities between 2018's God of War, believed that Valhalla could stand out as a game more rooted in historical accuracy rather than mythology.

The game's working title of "Assassin's Creed: Kingdoms" was first leaked in April 2019, misidentified as "Assassin's Creed: Kingdom", after people found what appeared to be an Easter egg for the game within a map in Tom Clancy's The Division 2. In it a poster reading "Valhalla" with a Viking character holding a sphere reminiscent of an Apple of Eden led to speculation about its relation to the Assassin's Creed series, which in turn led to journalist Jason Schreier confirming the setting and codename for the game. However, this supposed 'leak' was later revealed to be a complete coincidence and an accident.

Various Viking settings were considered for Valhalla including the Viking raid of Lindisfarne and the 1066 Norman invasion, but eventually it was settled on the Great Heathen Army period.

Release

Assassin's Creed: Valhalla was released on 10 November 2020 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X and Stadia, with a PlayStation 5 version being released on the 12th or 19th, depending on the region. It is also be the first Assassin's Creed title for the next-generation of consoles, the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, being a launch title for both consoles. Valhalla is considered Ubisoft's "flagship" game for the next-generation systems, and has been developed to take advantage of faster loading times both new consoles offer. Players on Xbox One or PlayStation 4 will be able to upgrade their game to the next-gen version on their respective platform at no extra cost. On PC, the game was not released on Steam at launch, but was available on Uplay and the Epic Games Store. Assasssin's Creed: Valhalla was also later bundled together with Assassin's Creed: Origins and Assassin's Creed: Odyssey in a digital-only Mythology Pack for Xbox exclusively, released on 9 January 2022.

The PC version was eventually released to Steam on 9 December 2022. Assassin's Creed: Valhalla was released to Xbox Game Pass on 9 January 2024, available on Xbox consoles, cloud services, and PC.

Marketing

On 29 April 2020, the game was officially announced by Ubisoft with an 8-hour art livestream by Boss Logic. The cinematic trailer premiered on 30 April at 8AM PDT. The trailer revealed a projected release date of Holiday 2020. On 7 May, a gameplay trailer was released showing in-engine footage. The background image on the Ubisoft website for Valhalla, also seen in the trailers, contained a runic cipher which, when translated revealed, stanza 77 from Hávamál, an ancient Norse poem. On 12 July at the UbiForward event, further gameplay footage of Valhalla was shown. One was a short gameplay overview, while the other was a full 30-minute analysis. In late October, Ubisoft released a Valhalla-themed filter for Instagram.

Editions

Ubisoft announced several editions of Assassin's Creed: Valhalla.

Standard EditionDrakkar EditionLimited EditionGold EditionRagnarök Edition

• A retail copy of Assassin's Creed: Valhalla

• A retail copy of Assassin's Creed: Valhalla
• The Berserker Longship Pack
• The Set of Runes
• Raven Skin from Berserker Pack

• A retail copy of Assassin's Creed: Valhalla
• The Berserker Settlement Pack
• The Set of Runes
• Hati Wolf Mount from Berserker Pack

• A retail copy of Assassin's Creed: Valhalla
• The Season Pass

• A retail copy of Assassin's Creed: Valhalla
• The Season Pass
• A 25cm Eivor figurine
• Exclusive Steelbook

Ultimate EditionCollector's EditionComplete Edition

• A retail copy of Assassin's Creed: Valhalla
• The Season Pass
• The Berserker Pack
• The Berserker Longship Pack
• The Berserker Settlement Pack
• The Set of Runes

• A retail copy of Assassin's Creed: Valhalla
• The Season Pass
• A 30cm Eivor figurine
• A 5cm Viking Statuette of Eivor
• The Berserker Pack
• The Berserker Longship Pack
• The Berserker Settlement Pack
• The Set of Runes
• Exclusive Steelbook
• Exclusive Box
• 3 Lithographs
• Game Soundtrack

• A digital copy of Assassin's Creed: Valhalla
• The Season Pass
• Dawn of Ragnarök expansion
• The Berserker Pack
• The Berserker Longship Pack
• The Berserker Settlement Pack
• The Set of Runes

Gallery

VideosPromotional mediaConcept artwork

• File:Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Official Teaser with Boss Logic – Timelapse
• File:Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Cinematic World Premiere Trailer Ubisoft NA
• File:Assassin's Creed Valhalla Developer Commentary Trailer Ubisoft NA
• File:Assassin’s Creed Valhalla First Look Gameplay Trailer Ubisoft NA
• File:Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Official 30 Minute Gameplay Walkthrough UbiFWD July 2020 Ubisoft NA
• File:Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Gameplay Overview Trailer
• File:Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Eivor’s Fate - Character Trailer Ubisoft NA
• File:Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Official Soundtrack Cinematic Trailer Ubisoft NA
• File:Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Story Trailer
• File:Assassin's Creed Valhalla Unleash Your Inner Viking - Chapter 1 Dual Wielding & Raiding
• File:Assassin's Creed Valhalla Unleash Your Inner Viking - Chapter 2 Open-World & Customization
• File:Assassin's Creed Valhalla Unleash Your Inner Viking - Chapter 3 Mythology & More
• File:Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Deep Dive Trailer Ubisoft NA
• File:Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Post Launch & Season Pass Trailer Ubisoft NA
• File:ASSASSIN’S CREED VALHALLA - CINEMATIC TV COMMERCIAL
• File:Assassin’s Creed Valhalla – Norse Mythology
• File:Assassin's Creed Valhalla- Launch Trailer - Ubisoft -NA-
• File:Assassin’s Creed Crossover Stories - Announcement Trailer - Ubisoft -NA-

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  Ultimate Edition cover concept
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  Ultimate Edition cover concept
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  Ultimate Edition cover concept
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  Concept art of Ravensthorpe in ruins
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  Concept art of initial repairs to Ravensthorpe
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Credits

By type 

Cast

Crew

Cast

Cecilie Stenspil as Eivor Varinsdottir, Rosta Magnus Bruun as Male Eivor, Varin, Odin Carlo Rota as Basim Ibn Ishaq, Loki Gaia Weiss as Fulke Gudmundur Ingi Thorvaldsson as Sigurd Styrbjornsson, Týr Tom Lewis as Alfred the Great Allan Corduner as Trygve Andrew Shaver as Stowe Aron Már Ólafsson as Erke, Harald Fairhair Björn Bengtsson as Kjotve the Cruel, Finnr Boris Hiestand as Rued, Fenrir, Gorm Kjotvesson Chantel Riley as Layla Hassan Christian Svensson as Ubba Ragnarsson Curtis Legault as Rollo Cody Bellinger as Otta Sluggasson Danny Wallace as Shaun Hastings David Menkin as Dag Einar Selvik as Bragi Eliza Jane Schneider as Rebecca Crane Elliot Cowan as Vili Eric Johnson as Ivarr the Boneless Erik Madsen as Guthrum Geoff Breton as Geadric Gunnar Cauthery as Hjorr Halfsson Harry McEntire as Hunwald Holly Gauthier-Frankel as Estrid Jeppe Beck Laursen as Halfdan, Thor Joi Johannsson as The Builder Kajsa Mohammar as Randvi, Soma Kåre Conradi as Styrbjorn, Faravid Kyle Gatehouse as Oswald of East Anglia Lucy Briers as Æthelswith Luke T. Taylor as Ceolbert Margaret Easley as Gunnlöð Mark Bonnar as Ceolwulf II of Mercia, Cynon Mark Noble as Hemming Nadia Verrucci as Hyrokkin Nina Yndis as Birna Nolan North as Desmond Miles Paul Amos as Rhodri the Great Sam Woolf as Birstan Sandra Yi Sencindiver as Ljufvina Bjarmarsdottir, Yanli Svandis Dora Einarsdottir as Valka Thomas W. Gabrielsson as Gunnar Tim Watson as Burgred of Mercia Tony Robinow as Suttungr Ukweli Roach as Goodwin Victoria Sanchez as Modron