Assassin's Creed Codename Hexe has been pitched by Ubisoft as a darker, narrative-driven entry from Ubisoft Montreal, but a new leak claims the game may be tying that mood to one of Europe's most infamous witch-trial settings. A Game Rant report citing leaker Rogue claims Hexe stars a protagonist named Anika and takes place during the Würzburg Witch Trials of 1625 to 1631.

Ubisoft has not confirmed those details, so the leak should be treated carefully. The company has only said Hexe is set during a "pivotal moment in history," and earlier official material has kept the game hidden behind a short forest teaser and a codename.

The leak narrows Hexe's witch-trial backdrop

The latest claim would turn years of fan speculation into a more specific premise. Players began connecting Hexe to German witch-trial history almost immediately after Ubisoft revealed the project in 2022, partly because "Hexe" means witch in German and because the teaser showed a stick-made Assassin insignia hanging in a dark forest. GamesRadar also noted at the time that fans were already pointing to the Würzburg Witch Trials as a possible setting.

The new report goes further. Rogue reportedly says Anika is the character's real name, while Elsa was only an internal development name. The same leak claims Hexe includes blood pacts, poisons, ritual-site activities, stolen relic recovery and an alert system where NPCs report suspicious behavior faster than usual.

One of the more grounded gameplay claims is also one of the most interesting for longtime Assassin's Creed fans: tree-to-tree branch jumping is reportedly part of Hexe's parkour. If accurate, that would recall the forest traversal that helped define Assassin's Creed 3, but filtered through a much darker historical frame.

Ezio's rumored return is the claim to watch most closely

The wildest part of the leak is not the setting. Rogue reportedly claims Anika is a descendant of Claudia Auditore, Ezio Auditore's sister, and that Ezio appears to her as some kind of spirit or ghostly mentor.

That would be a massive swing for Ubisoft. Ezio remains the most recognizable Assassin's Creed protagonist, but bringing him into Hexe could easily feel strange if the story leans too hard on nostalgia. The report includes alleged voice lines between Anika and Ezio, including Ezio telling her, "Come, leap with me. One last time for an old man."

There is enough in the claim to excite Assassin's Creed fans, especially if Hexe uses the Auditore connection to deepen Anika's story rather than distract from it. It is also exactly the kind of rumor that needs a strong caveat until Ubisoft shows the game. A ghostly Ezio mentor would be one of Hexe's defining story choices, not a small background reference.

Ubisoft is still keeping Hexe quiet

Hexe was announced during Ubisoft Forward 2022 alongside Codename Red, later revealed as Assassin's Creed Shadows, and the multiplayer project Codename Invictus. Ubisoft said at the time that Red and Hexe would be part of Assassin's Creed Infinity, the wider hub planned to connect different experiences in the series.

The most recent official update came in Ubisoft's March 2026 Assassin's Creed roadmap post, where the company said Shadows support was winding down and teams were shifting focus toward what comes next. Ubisoft described Hexe as a "unique, darker, narrative-driven Assassin's Creed experience" from its veteran Montreal team, with Jean Guesdon serving as creative director.

That timing makes the leak more notable, but not confirmed. Ubisoft also used the same roadmap post to push back on some rumors around Assassin's Creed Invictus, showing the company is aware of how much speculation surrounds its next wave of Assassin's Creed projects.

If the new details are accurate, Hexe could be one of the franchise's sharpest tonal departures: a mainline Assassin's Creed set inside witch-trial paranoia, with stealth, parkour and suspicion mechanics shaped around that fear. Until Ubisoft is ready to properly unveil it, the leak is specific enough to matter and still unconfirmed enough to handle with care.