Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag will bring back stealth

Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag will feature a stronger focus on stealth than previous games in the series, according to creative director Jean Guesdon.

Stealth was once a key part of the Assassin's Creed franchise, but that aspect of gameplay seems to have become less important with every new iteration.

Guesdon claims that stealth will play an important role in Black Flag.

"We are putting a lot of effort to improve that pillar of the franchise," he said in a Q&A released by Ubisoft.

"Being a pirate was also about taking places by surprise, and this would require stealth abilities.

"So yes, stealth will be back in Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag. Infiltrations, tails and exploration of islands are all part of it."

Guesdon also said that while a lot of Black Flag's gameplay will take place at sea, the majority of missions will occur on land.

"Mission wise, land missions will represent approximately 60% of the game and naval ones 40%," he added. "But if you take the global experience that players will leave with Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag we're more talking about 50-50.

"The seamless, systemic open-world system (Horizon System) packed full of sea and underwater activities will represent a big part of the game."

Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag is set to be released at the end of the year.