Assassin's Creed Valhalla will let you explore major UK cities like London, Winchester, and York across four different Kingdoms

(Image credit: Ubisoft)

Assassin's Creed Valhalla takes place in an open-world setting that will let players explore major cities in England across four different kingdoms. 

In a BBC Click interview, Marc Cieslak spoke to Valhalla director Ashraf Ismail about the upcoming adventure, during which Ismail shed some more light on the game's setting. 

Set in the 9th Century which is often referred to as the Dark Ages, Valhalla takes place in Norway and England, but for the majority of the game players will be exploring the landscapes and sights of four different kingdoms in England. 

"Norway is quite big on its own," Ismail says, "but if we talk about England specifically, that's where the majority of the game takes place. We have four kingdoms in England so it's Northumbria, East Anglia, Mercia, and Wessex. We have major cities like Winchester, London, York - or Jorvik at the time period." 

In what Ismail describes as an "incredible period in history," players will be taking on the role of a Viking by the name of Eivor who leads his people to resettle in England. But of course, it won't be smooth sailing, and plenty of bloody battles are no doubt in Eivor's future. With new features including raiding and assembling raiding parties on longships, Valhalla will be fit to bursting with Viking action. 

We already know the latest Assassin's Creed will present you with the choice to play as a man or a woman protagonist, and will feature plenty of RPG elements to tuck into, as well as customisable mercenaries who can be sent on raids elsewhere to help your pals. While we've only seen glimpses from the cinematic trailer so far, the news that gameplay will debut during Xbox Series X stream next week, it'll be interesting to see just how much of the setting will be shown. 

Here's why Assassin's Creed Valhalla sounds like an ambitious step beyond Origins and Odyssey

Heather Wald
Senior staff writer

I started out writing for the games section of a student-run website as an undergrad, and continued to write about games in my free time during retail and temp jobs for a number of years. Eventually, I earned an MA in magazine journalism at Cardiff University, and soon after got my first official role in the industry as a content editor for Stuff magazine. After writing about all things tech and games-related, I then did a brief stint as a freelancer before I landed my role as a staff writer here at 12DOVE. Now I get to write features, previews, and reviews, and when I'm not doing that, you can usually find me lost in any one of the Dragon Age or Mass Effect games, tucking into another delightful indie, or drinking far too much tea for my own good. 

Latest in Assassin's Creed
Assassin's Creed Shadows Claws of Awaji expansion Naoe and Yasuke in Awaji forest
Assassin's Creed Shadows roadmap, DLC and future content
Assassin's Creed Shadows cinematic screenshot
Assassin's Creed Shadows reverses roles to show off Naoe's combat and Yasuke's stealth, and I'm suddenly sold on playing Yasuke like a clumsy Snake in Metal Gear Solid 3
Assassin's Creed Shadows cinematic screenshot
Assassin's Creed Shadows' DLC will take place after the main game's "definite ending" in a "spookier" location, creative director says
Assassin's Creed Shadows cinematic screenshot
Assassin's Creed Shadows devs added a Canon Mode removing RPG choices after Odyssey fans "expressed their disappointment" over not having a "definitive" story
Assassin's Creed Odyssey screenshot of Kassandra admiring a blade
Assassin's Creed's Kassandra stole the show in Odyssey, popped up in Valhalla, and she's still "very much alive" during AC Shadows
Assassin's Creed Shadows cinematic screenshot
Assassin's Creed Shadows will take upwards of 80 hours for completionists, creative director confirms, and Ubisoft is considering adding New Game+ post launch
Latest in News
A AMD Ryzen 7 8700G being put into it's socket by a reviewer
AMD's new Ryzen 9 X3D processors launch today, here's the stock I've found so far
GTA 3 Mobile screenshot showing claude running away from police near a casino
The fan-made Dreamcast version of GTA 3 is looking way better in the latest look, introducing tech that "would’ve previously been a slideshow"
Scarlett Johansson in Jurassic World Rebirth
Jurassic World Rebirth studio asked Scarlett Johansson to join Instagram, but she refused: "The film will do fine"
Deltarune
Undertale creator Toby Fox's tomfoolery leaves Deltarune testers thinking an intentional nerf was actually a bug after they "independently" discovered it
Pokemon Go player trying to catch a Croagunk
Pokemon Go developer Niantic has been bought for $3.5 billion, CEO says it'll help its games be "'forever games' that will endure for future generations"
A Minecraft Movie
Minecraft movie's popcorn bucket is an explosive, game-accurate continuation of a cinema trend that shows no signs of slowing down