I'm guessing many peoples reaction to this news is 'shocking' with sarcasm, or 'who cares?' Still, I thought I'd get it out there if anyone does care. Three was my least favorite Assassin's Creed for a long time. It wasn't until I replayed about a month prior, leading up to AC: Origins where I found out that I actually really enjoyed the experience. Many, if not all the issues I had when I originally played it wasn't an issue anymore, be it the myriad of bugs, Connor as a character, the story, the lack of music during exploration (the soundtrack is phenomenal though), or just some frustrating moments.

All of those things I pretty much changed my view on. I recommend those that disliked it, perhaps check it out again at some point, if not the remaster, the version you've already played. Whenever you get an Assassin's Creed itch and there's no new one to play, that is, if an AC itch even happens. It also helped I think as I played it when my enthusiasm for Assassin's Creed wasn't as high as it once was and my expectations were in check, so I could look at AC3 as a good game it is rather than the game it wasn't. Anyways, you can buy the remaster separately once it comes out, but it's also coming included in the AC: Odyssey Season Pass.

As for my interest level in the remaster, it's not all too high considering I just played it last year again. For anyone more curious, here's the Google search for you to click on any link about it. In the Kotaku article, they mention that the game will supposedly have improved gameplay mechanics as well as ergonomics. It also uses a new engine, but considering we have no images of it, I don't really know what that means in terms of how much better it'll look. And I guess it'll arrive in March.

Since the Ezio Collection is already a thing, I think it's cool they are remastering 3 as well. Now if only they would do 1 so you can have ps4/XB1 versions of the whole series

Wow this is a crazy move, though I'll be honest and say that adding Farcry 3 remastered to Farcry 5 got me to shill out for the ultimate version or whatever it was called....so they must know people like me better than we know ourselves. I have AC3 on PC, but have only played it as far as getting to the point where you are a kid running in the woods. No idea if it was because of something else coming out or a lack of interest that made me stop. I was already going to get the gold version of Odyssey, so this announcement is a nice bonus for me.

Their biggest issue would have to be reducing the initial tutorializing. One of my biggest issue with AC3, and I had quite a few despite being a big AC fan, was that the game takes absolutely forever to get going. So many AC games in they didn't really need to take that long to teach you how to hide in bushes or use the hidden blade.

I doubt I'll get this, although it's interesting. AC3 was kind of a mess in many ways, most of all it's somber atmosphere and brooding protagonist. Then again it is one of the last few real AC games because they started moving towards.. well.. whatever AC has become now.

Great game. Stunning, snowy Boston; walking 'round the White House; Haytham Kenway, the second best playable character in the whole franchise; the opening mission, one of the best in the whole franchise; meeting GW; the interesting homestead content, making friends and fixing it up.

I loved it, and guffaw when people say it's 'bad', even if I agree Connor is poorly written (which is no small flaw), but still: I will get this upgrade to an already very pretty game, happily.

That's super cool, I'm buying Odyssey day 1 and probably the season pass so it's great to hear. Seems like Ubi started an interesting practice of putting remasters as part of a season pass (you can buy them separate like you said). FC5 pass had a FC3 remaster if I'm not wrong. I think it's neat. Can't wait for both AC3 and Odyssey. I think AC1 and AC3 are the only home consoles AC games not available on modern systems, right? Maybe they'll do a remaster of AC1 too at some point and then all of them will be on this gen's systems and possibly next gen's (via BC).

3 had some really fascinating combat mechanics and some amazing animations, but the controls were really odd and it was really difficult to do cool things on purpose. Stuff like you can pull guards in front of you when enemies are shooting at you, but I never figured out how to do it on purpose. Working those out sounds like it could be fun to just run around and kill redcoats in.

Love III's era, will definitely get it and maybe even plat it again if they do away with the bullshit online trophy which is what's preventing me from platting Black Flag.

Well, they had to get here at some point. While it seems like Unity is the real nadir of the franchise, AC 3 is not a game I'd have any real interest in revisiting. I don't think it's a garbage fire or anything, but between some serious pacing issues and the kinda insurmountable problem of Connor being an unlikable, self-righteous wet-blanket, I don't think I need to play it again.

It was a really well realised game, it was obviously less "fun" after the Ezio games, but the renewed mechanics and the world are really great.
I'm in the Vinny camp of always enjoying these games, but a little put off by the new approach to combat which has completely thrown away what was cool about the previous games, so i've been considering replaying some of them, i'd love to replay the first game but 3 wouldn't be a bad one to revisit.
I love the acting in this one.

I’m one of the few people that love AC3 so this is very good news!

@brunothethird: I mean I think mechanically it's as good as most Assassins Creed of that era go, probably even a step above with the expanded options at your disposal. The writing though was all over the place and Connor was straight up a bad protagonist and that doesn't help when you have to be THAT guy for the entire game. I gotta say the forests in AC3 were some of the most authentically realized I've seen in a video game and walking through snow, while somewhat annoying, looked really great. Overall AC3 is just a bunch of cool highs mixed in with a lot of real lows that bring the whole thing down a few notches. I also think that a persons love for that particular time period will help elevate the experience a whole lot.

I've only ever played the first AC, it's a series I've thought about jumping back into for a while, with so many different entry points to choose from. I have Syndicate from games with gold though and would play that before I ever bought this. I'm cool with remastering big games from last gen though. There were so many, everyone missed at least one, and being able to revisit them with updated graphics and better controllers.

Played it on pc but never finished it. Adjust the tailing missions so they're more forgiving and I'll give it another shot.

I liked the woods, the colonial cities, your farm, and was really stoked on the time period and main character.

I can't wait to walk around to all my adorable neighbors in the Homestead all over again!

I might get this. Despite it's issues I liked the overall story of AC3 way more than the Ezio trilogy (obviously ignoring the abomination of how they chose to end the Desmond plot).
The game would've been perfect if Haytham had been the protagonist. And also if they had cut down on the hours worth of tutorials......and reigned in the need to put Connor front and center of every major historical event in the plot.

That's a big pass from me. Loved the setting and Kenway was a great character (I think that was his name?), but the downright shitty mission design combined with the bugs made this one a huge chore. I still get irritated thinking about the mission where you're supposed to chase a certain character down on horseback as things are blowing up all around you while the game's crappy environmental bugs snagged you at every turn. It wasn't a bad game, but it definitely needed a lot more time for testing and bug fixes. See also Unity.

@humanity: I agreed he was poorly written, to be fair, but I thought Altair was just as dull. AC1 is inferior to 3 in most ways (excluding story, just about), but only three seems to be shat on so aggressively for its flaws, and the extreme negativity towards it doesn't quite add up to me in context with how much it gets right. The fact is, all of the games are problematic in unique ways.

Haytham was a much better candidate for a compelling lead character in AC3, I've said that since the day I first finished it. A balanced mix of playing as him and Connor would've been a superior experience, it's a real shame, but playing as a Native American surprised me enough that it felt new, important and interesting at the time, blurring his weaknesses with the sheer novelty. I don't 'enjoy' his presence as a person in the same way as Ezio or Bayek, but don't think he ruins anything, either, similar to Niko Bellic. He's the most annoying, self-centered, complaining asshole in GTA history, but you overlook it because the world is so good. That's an uncommon opinion, and AC3 isn't as good as GTA4, but the comparison of a character I don't love inhabiting a world I do is one I'm firmly familiar with. Connor isn't a particularly egregious example of it, in my opinion, but he is an example, definitely.

Hell yes! ACIII is easily a top 3 Assassin's Creed game. Can't wait to play it again.

@mattgiersoni: They're both backwards compatible on Xbox One, so technically they are?

I may need to replay this game, though the tutorial was agonizing from what I remember.

I only bought this game because I watched Vinny play it as he threw a full sized axe into someone's back during a quicklook.

hmm, I wonder if PC owners will get the remaster free e.g. BioShock 1 & 2. They gave away AC3 one Christmas so I assuming everyone who wanted it on PC has it.

I also loved AC3 and the time period, but there was a lot less rapping than I was led to believe existed.

3 was the last AC game I played to completion; well, that and Liberation. The tutorial was way too long, but I actually really enjoyed the game otherwise.

I don't really have any intention of playing through it again, but it's cool that they seem dedicated to doing all of them, and not just the most fondly remembered, like the II trilogy.

Actually, I thought this when I first played it, which is why it led to some frustration, but when I went through it again there was no issue.

@norm9: Again, another issue I had was the tailing missions, but didn't when I replayed it. I thought it was done better in four, but in actuality it wasn't, I didn't didn't have any issue with it when I played four.

@humanity: @arbitrarywater: I should have just replied to both comments in one post, but whatever. Like the previous comment, this was also an issue I had with him. He seemed like a bland, whiny character, but going back to the game I thought his reasoning for it all was good, and from what I remember he was basically saying what the player felt. He seemed to fight for the things that make sense to the player and Connor's journey. He's one of the more subdued, serious, but more interesting characters in the series. That said, like Ezio and Edward, it's hard not to like their more jovial sense of personality.

Big AC fan, I played through that whole game and even i’m like boyyyyy why would they ever do this. My only thought is that they want to bring people’s attention back to the desmond story line?

Its the last game in the series where he is a major part, and kind of the last to deal with the larger templar/assassin/precursor world beyond footnotes.

Huh, so the official news statement on Ubi's site says this will include also all DLC and AC:Liberation (vita game) remastered, that's quite a good deal. I was expecting only AC3 with DLC, awesome!

I would never buy it but since it's included in the Odyssey season pass I can't complain. I think it's the only AC game I don't have on Xbox yet. They've been handing them out like candy on GWG

And this year's award for 'Remaster noone ever fucking asked for' goes to...!!!

Seriously...no one asked for this. At least Prototype had a niche following when it was remastered. Does AC3 have any supporters?

AC3 is totally fine and it's always gotten an undue amount of hatred.

It's not a I must buy it again kind of game but sure bring it up to speed with current platforms, why not.

AC3 was never as bad as people made it out to be. People just like to jump on the band wagon and feel like they are part of something.

Sign me up...I've been meaning to revisit AC3 and this is as good an excuse as any (especially since I would have been picking up Odyssey's season pass anyway). Though the opening hours are excruciatingly slow and the final mission is hot garbage, to say the least, I like AC3's setting and focus on rural environments a lot. It's probably my third favorite in the series after Origins and Black Flag.

The game suffered a lot from poor pacing and mechanics, but is by far the most interesting AC game in terms of setting and atmosphere. If they've fixed some of the mechanics-related issues I'd be willing to revisit it.

Whether or not they fix the bug where the colour of your robes doesn't properly show up in cutscenes will decide the quality of a remaster.