A joke about Edmonton becoming the next Assassin’s Creed setting is making the rounds online, and somehow, it works better than it should. The post started after a user on X quoted a Polygon post about the next Assassin’s Creed game heading to “a very unexpected place.” Their suggestion was simple: Edmonton, Alberta.
No fake trailer. No long explanation. Just Edmonton.That was enough for locals to start running with it. One user replied, “As an Edmontonian, I approve this idea,” while another added, “Get Edmonton on the map.”
Why Edmonton Works Better Than It Should
The phrase “Edmonton Assassin’s Creed” is funny before you even explain it. The city is not exactly Venice, Paris, London, or ancient Egypt. It is a winter city with river valley trails, government buildings, LRT stations, downtown towers, road construction, and the Talus Dome sitting there like a side quest nobody has figured out yet.
But that is also why people started backing the idea. One Edmontonian replied, “As an Edmontonian, I approve this idea. Get Edmonton on the map.” The post even included a clip from Christmas in Wonderland, the 2007 movie that tried to make Edmonton look like a much bigger, shinier place than most locals remember.
That is the joke underneath the joke. Edmonton does not get this kind of pop-culture treatment often, so even a fake Assassin’s Creed pitch gives people a chance to imagine the city as something bigger than the usual punchline.
An Edmonton version of Assassin’s Creed would not need castles or ancient ruins to be entertaining. You could climb the Legislature, disappear into the river valley, chase someone through West Edmonton Mall, use the High Level Bridge as a dramatic crossing, and spend half the game dodging ice, potholes, and Jasper Avenue construction.
The historical accuracy would probably fall apart quickly. The local accuracy could be incredible.
Calgary as the Villain Was Inevitable
The best reply turned the whole thing into an Alberta plotline: Assassins as Edmontonians, Knight Templars as Calgarians.
That is basically the game.
Edmonton as the cold, stubborn northern resistance. Calgary as the polished corporate rival with newer towers, cleaner branding, and the confidence of a city that thinks the rest of Alberta is just surrounding context. The Battle of Alberta, but with hidden blades.
It works because nobody here needs the rivalry explained. Edmonton and Calgary already compare themselves over hockey, roads, downtowns, restaurants, festivals, skyline, transit, weather, and which city actually has more personality. If Alberta ever got an Assassin’s Creed game, the Templars being from Calgary would feel less like a creative decision and more like common sense.
Edmonton Rarely Gets Picked
Nobody seriously thinks Ubisoft is about to announce Assassin’s Creed: Edmonton. There is no official game, no release date, and no hooded assassin standing outside Churchill Square in a parka.
The joke works because Edmonton is almost too specific. A fake Assassin’s Creed game set in Toronto would feel predictable. Vancouver would be easy. Montreal already has the Ubisoft connection. Calgary would probably get the glossy trailer with the skyline, Stampede, and mountains in the background.
Edmonton would get something stranger, colder, and probably more entertaining.
For one afternoon, the city became the imaginary setting for one of gaming’s biggest franchises. For a place used to being left out of the national conversation, that was enough to run with.
