I didn’t know the 2024 Olympics were starting today. Or that they were in France. So I was extra surprised when the opening ceremony looked like a scene from a classic movie Assassin’s Creed game.
Apparently, so did everyone else. This year’s opening ceremony, which began in Paris on July 26 and ran through August 11, featured everything you need to know about French culture, including soccer star Zinedine Zidane, a beheaded queen and what appeared to be a mysterious revolutionary-era figure in a hood jumping off rooftops. The only thing missing giant baguette.
Here’s How People Reacted to Seeing Spirit’s Halloween Build Assassin’s Creed heroes appear at an international sporting event:
Assassin’s Creed publisher Ubisoft – the French company – has apparently announced a surprise appearance by its assassin defending history in a few posts earlier todayone winking at the official Olympic account and the other sharing a trailer Assassin’s Creed Communityset in France during the French Revolution. It’s still unclear how much of it was a direct tribute to the country’s video game heritage and how much of it was a vague gesture toward brand activation.
“We were impressed by the opening ceremony and very proud to see it Assassin’s Creed “was one of the inspirations for the talented creators of the series,” said a Ubisoft spokesman My city in a statement. “It’s a true testament to the influence video games have on popular culture.”
While it’s always a nice surprise to see the games recognized in real life, not everyone was impressed with the broader opening ceremony. The Budget Olympics became a trend on various parts of social media, with online viewers criticizing the fact that the event wasn’t held in a stadium and looked more like Eurovision at a dollar store than a Super Bowl halftime show in Hollywood.
I am not in a position to judge. Perhaps these skeptics would feel differently if the killer had jumped out of the restored Notre Dame Cathedral into a giant hay wagon.
If the Olympic Games in France are making you miss a trip you can’t afford, Assassin’s Creed Community isn’t the worst alternative. The infamously buggy game now runs great and lets you explore some of Paris’ most famous landmarks in between a lot of gruesome (but necessary) murders. It costs $30 on PS4, Xbox One, and PC, but you can also rent it for a paid month of PS Plus Extra or Ubisoft+, which all cost less than $20.
