Ahead of the game’s release next month, Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla just received an unexpected but welcome promotion in the form of a one-shot manga. This short story is a crossover between the Ubisoft title and the popular manga Vinland Saga.
Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla brings the history-spanning franchise into the era of the Vikings, specifically the 9th century. The story will follow Eivor, who leads a clan of Vikings to settle lands in England and other parts of Europe, where they come into conflict with the Anglo-Saxons. With a plot centered around Viking invaders, a crossover between Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla and Vinland Saga is only natural. Written by Makoto Yukimura, Vinland Saga focusses on Thorfinn, the son of a retired Viking commander who gets caught up in a seafaring adventure after his father’s death. The series began in 2005 and has 23 volumes so far, as well as an anime adaptation.
the Assassin makes his escape. The one-shot is currently only available in Japanese, but English and other translations are reportedly on the way.
As cool as this crossover is, it’s highly unlikely the story will be canon to either franchise given the difference in their respective time periods. While Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla takes place in the 9th century during the Vikings’ early expansion into England, Vinland Saga takes place in the 11th century. Unless Eivor can time-travel or simply doesn’t age, it would be virtually impossible for him and Thorfinn to actually cross paths. There’s also the fact that the official Eivor a man or woman in-game, so this may be less of a complication than it seems. Regardless, the difference in time period alone is enough to rule out an official shared universe between the two properties, though it still makes for an awesome promotion.
In addition to its online release, the one-shot crossover will also be made available in print come December in Monthly Afternoon, the magazine where Vinland Saga is published. In the meantime, keep your eyes peeled for any Vinland Saga easter eggs in Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla. Assassin's Creed: Valhalla drops on November 10 (November 12 for PlayStation 5)
