Assassin’s Creed:Codename Hexewill allegedly circle around a protagonist named Elsa seeking revenge for her mother’s execution during the witch trials. The news came after a user on XCancel teased the plot of the next installment, although this leak should be taken with a massive grain of salt for now. The teased plot states that the nextAssassin’s Creedinstallment “will have a dark, haunting tone,” and it starts with “Elsa seeking revenge for her mother, who was executed as a witch during the witch trials.”
The name Elsa immediately evokes associations with Disney’sFrozen, a cultural juggernaut whose lead character shares the name and themes of female empowerment and family bonds, too. Therefore, regardless of Ubisoft’s intentions to craft a dark, haunting tone,Assassin’s Creed: Codename Hexe’sprotagonist’s name, coupled with potential plot elements like magic symbolism and a witch-focused plotline, sets up an immediate comparison toFrozen’s Elsa. The parallels are almost too obvious to ignore, and meme creators will have no trouble transforming dramatic cutscenes into punchlines about letting it go.
Assassin’s Creed: Hexe May Have a Light Pop Culture Reference To Carry It Through
Even if the game delivers a compelling, somber narrative, some parts of the audience won’t be able to unsee theFrozenconnection.Viral video game memesthrive on shared cultural references, and Elsa is already hardwired into the public’s collective pop culture lexicon. Online discourse could easily shift fromHexe’s intended thematic exploration of persecution and resilience to endless parodies and memes, which would give the game a fun cushion to lean on as long as it stays relevant and balanced.
Plus, Ubisoft will face a tough branding challenge here. IfHexeleans too heavily into awitchy, icy aesthetic likeFrozenand doesn’t fully distinguish its Elsa from her animated namesake, memes could overshadow the plot altogether. While memes can generate publicity, they also risk trivializing the game’s serious tone. Therefore, the key here is to deliver a balancing act where the Elsa connection is played into for marketing momentum while ensuring that the story’s emotional weight and themes remain front and center.
Memes Could Undercut Hexe’s Tone
The Elsa-Frozenparallel isn’t inherently harmful, but it risks hijacking the conversation aroundHexe’s themes. Players might find it difficult to fully engage with the story’s intended gravity when jokes about ice powers orFrozenboss fights are trending online. This could erode the immersive quality thatAssassin’s Creedgamestypically aim for, with meme culture inserting a layer of detachment. However, that undercut will only cause problems if the game itself leans too heavily into those themes and features snowy areas or similar character traits between its version of Elsa and Disney’s.
While the Elsa-Frozenconnection might feel like an easy meme target, it’s worth noting that Ubisoft has a strong track record of historical accuracy and complex storylines. IfCodename Hexeleverages authentic historical contexts, such as real accounts of witch trials and early modern European fears of sorcery, it could deliver a deeply immersive experience despite pop culture distractions.
The Inevitable Meme Storm: Embrace or Resist?
The real question is whether Ubisoft should lean into the meme potential or double down onHexe’s dark tone. Ignoring the Elsa memes completely or consciously steering away from them might not be a completely good idea either, but overemphasizing meme references through marketing, achievement titles, and so on could cheapen the experience and dilute the story’s intended message of persecution and resilience. The community’s overall reaction could also depend on how much Ubisoft leans into, or away from, the meme potential.
Ubisoft’s best play, therefore, may be to subtly reference a moment or two, doing just enough to have some memers cracking jokes on Reddit but not acknowledging any similarities beyond that. Ultimately,Hexe’s public perception will depend on its ability to rise above meme culture’s surface-level interpretations. IfUbisoft’s writers and designerscan deliver a layered, compelling story with authentic historical depth, Elsa memes should just help amplify engagement without distracting too much from the actual experience.
Assassin’s Creed Codename Hexe
Assassin’s Creed Codename Hexe is a planned title in the storied series from Ubisoft. It is rumoured to be set during the witch trials of the 16th century in Europe.
