Assassin’s Creed Valhalla won’t be getting new game plus, after all

The final post-launch update for 2020’s Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla rolls out on Dec. 6, marking the end of development on the game, Ubisoft Montreal announced on Friday. The final update does not include new game-plus mode, however.

“We understand this news will come as a disappointment,” the studio wrote, “however, we hope that the new content released in the past months, including never-before-seen experiences like Forgotten Saga, has provided an exciting and challenging experience for those seeking more replayable content.”

The Forgotten Saga, a “roguelite-inspired” mode, arrived in an Aug. 2 update. It was announced in June. Still, the game’s community had long asked for a new-game plus mode, where the player restarts the game’s campaign with the progression, build, and gear they earned on their first playthrough still intact. Valhalla’s two predecessors, 2017’s Assassin’s Creed Origins and 2018’s Assassin’s Creed Odyssey both added new game-plus modes after launch.

“Assassin’s Creed Valhalla has been built as a unique Assassin’s Creed experience, one that is very different from its predecessors in its structure, offering new ways of engaging with the world and its characters,” Ubisoft Montreal reasoned. “When investigating the implementation of New Game+, we realized that the depth of the game gave us limited options to make replayability unique and rewarding.”

Title update 1.6.2 launches Dec. 6 and includes “The Last Chapter,” which the studio called “a touching and intimate conclusion to Eivor’s saga.” Further, the update adds a community request — the means of keeping Eivor’s hood equipped, even when removing his cloak. It’s purely cosmetic, and will not affect gameplay or detection, Ubisoft Montreal said.

“We also have a few more surprises in store with this title update… but we’ll save those for our final farewell,” the studio added.