I didn’t know the 2024 Olympic Games were starting today. Or that they were in France. So I was extra surprised when the opening ceremony looked like a scene out of a classic Assassin’s Creed game.
Apparently everyone else was, too. The opening ceremony for this year’s Games, kicked off in Paris on July 26 and running 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 leaping off rooftops. All it was missing was a giant baguette.
Here is how people reacted to seeing the Halloween Spirit version of an Assassin’s Creed protagonist show up at the international sporting event:
Assassin’s Creed publisher Ubisoft—a French company—appeared to tease the surprise cameo of its history-defending killer in a couple of posts earlier today, one winking at the official Olympics account and another sharing a trailer for Assassin’s Creed Unity, the one that takes place in France during the French Revolution. It’s still not entirely clear how much this was a direct homage to the country’s video game heritage rather than a vague gesture in the direction of a brand activation.
“We were impressed by the opening ceremony and very proud to see that Assassin’s Creed was one of the inspirations for the show’s talented creators,” a spokesperson for Ubisoft told Kotaku in a statement. “It is a true testament to video games’ influence on popular culture.”
While seeing gaming recognized IRL is always a neat surprise, not everyone was impressed with the opening ceremony more generally. Budget Olympics began trending on various parts of social media, with online onlookers critiquing the fact that the event wasn’t held in a stadium and felt more dollar-store Eurovision than Hollywood Super Bowl half-time show.
I am not in a position to judge. Maybe those naysayers would have felt differently if the assassin had jumped off a restored Notre Dame Cathedral into a giant cart of hay.
If the Olympic Games in France have you pining for a getaway you can’t afford, Assassin’s Creed Unity isn’t the worst alternative. The infamously buggy game at launch plays great now and will let you explore some of Paris’ most famous landmarks in-between many grisly (but necessary) murders. It’s $30 on PS4, Xbox One, and PC, but you can also rent it for a paid month of PS Plus Extra or Ubisoft+, both of which are under $20.