Assassin's Creed Valhalla Gets New Game Plus on November 5, Nearly Six Years After Launch

By CriticalPixel · 2026-10-29

Eivor is heading back to England with a lot more baggage. Assassin's Creed Valhalla is getting New Game Plus on November 5, nearly six years after its original launch, and Ubisoft is packing the update with more than a simple restart button. Players will be able to begin the saga again while carrying over much of their progression, with scaling designed for the new run. Ubisoft says new runes, rewards and a stash system are coming too. That's a substantial reason to return to a game whose fans have been asking for this option for years.

Official Assassin's Creed Valhalla gameplay screenshot

What carries over and what changes

The pitch is straightforward: replay Eivor's story, try another build and take favorite gear into a fresh journey. Ubisoft promises dedicated New Game Plus scaling, but its announcement stops short of listing every item, unlock or upgrade that will transfer. That distinction matters for anyone planning around a carefully assembled loadout. Until the patch notes land, treat the broad promise as just that, and don't assume every piece of an old save will make the trip.

There is also an optional progression mode that counts gear, runes and masteries toward Eivor's overall power. The word optional matters: Ubisoft has not said everyone will have to use the new approach. Depending on how the numbers work, it could make equipment choices more meaningful during a replay, but the announcement doesn't provide enough detail to judge the balance. Players who want to know how their existing builds will stack up will need the full breakdown.

The same update adds new runes, achievements and rewards, including a Master Assassin outfit inspired by Naoe from Assassin's Creed Shadows. Mithril arrives as a new resource for upgrading Divine Gear and strengthening runes, while Divine Gear quality will be available for all items. A stash system is on the list as well. JorRaptor also outlined those additions alongside the November 5 date, although the practical details of the systems remain with Ubisoft's upcoming notes.

A very long wait for a replay

Valhalla originally launched in November 2020, as IGN reports, so this feature is arriving just days shy of the game's sixth anniversary. Ubisoft itself calls New Game Plus a long-awaited request and says Valhalla recently passed 40 million players. That player figure is not a sales total, and the announcement doesn't break down how it was measured. Even with that caveat, the size of the audience helps explain why a late update to an older game can still matter.

Official Assassin's Creed Valhalla game screenshot

The appeal of a replay is different when players can bring the results of their first adventure along. Instead of spending the opening stretch rebuilding the same setup, returning players may get to revisit story choices and encounters with tools they already earned. Dedicated scaling should give those tools something to push against, though whether the fights feel challenging is a question for the actual update. A date and a feature list are welcome; they are not a substitute for playing it.

The Steam listing describes Valhalla as an open world action adventure starring the Viking warrior Eivor, and credits Ubisoft Montreal as developer and Ubisoft as publisher. It also lists the Steam release as December 6, 2022, which is later than the game's original 2020 launch. That's useful context if you bought it on Valve's storefront and remember a shorter wait. The November 5 announcement does not provide a platform-by-platform rollout or a price in the text we reviewed.

The stash could prove useful for players who have collected more equipment than they want to carry into every encounter. What Ubisoft has announced is the system's existence, not its capacity, access rules or how it interacts with a transferred save. The same goes for Mithril: we know its stated purpose, but not how it is earned or how much an upgrade will cost. Those are the details that will decide whether the new resource gives veterans a reason to experiment or just adds another material to track.

Players are excited and skeptical

The early responses are mixed. On the official Assassin's Creed announcement, one player celebrated finally getting the mode and another called it an amazing surprise. Under IGN's post, other replies questioned why it took so long. JorRaptor's thread also includes a player who has no interest in replaying such a large game. Those are individual reactions, not a poll of the whole audience, but the split makes sense: a long campaign can be either a treasure to revisit or a mountain you have already climbed.

A replay option does not ask the skeptics to start again, and that's why it belongs in the game. Someone who loved a particular build can see the story through a different lens, while someone who has had enough of Eivor's adventure can leave it alone. The new power calculation may also make returning gear feel different, rather than simply turning the opening hours into a victory lap. Whether it does so without turning progression into another chore is the part Ubisoft still needs to demonstrate.

There is a useful distinction between giving players stronger equipment and giving them a different way to play. A New Game Plus mode can make a second journey feel fresh when enemy scaling, optional progression and rewards work together. It can also feel like the same long route with bigger numbers if those pieces don't fit. Ubisoft has given returning players a promising list of ingredients; the update itself will have to show whether they make replaying the campaign rewarding.

The details still on the table

Ubisoft says full patch notes are coming, along with news about current-generation console updates in the coming days. It has not explained those console updates in the announcement, so there is no basis yet to promise a resolution boost, a performance mode or a particular feature for any machine. The same restraint applies to the stash, transfer rules and new progression system. The names are confirmed; the finer mechanics are not.

For CriticalPixel, the take is simple: this is a good update that should have arrived much sooner. Nearly six years is a long time to wait for a way to revisit a game with hard-earned progress intact, and players are fair to call that out. Still, adding scaling, rewards and an optional progression system gives the return more substance than a bare restart toggle. If the patch notes spell out the carryover rules clearly and the balance holds up, November 5 could be a worthwhile excuse to pick up Eivor's axe again.