The internet was abuzz about metal band Gojira’s Olympics opening ceremony performance suspended high on the walls of a French Chateau, but as reported by Eurogamer, the celebration also featured an equally surreal bit of videogame marketing woven through the whole shebang: A masked torchbearer dressed like Arno from Assassin’s Creed Unity, parkouring about with the blessings of franchise creator Ubisoft.
Featured on NBC coverage of the ceremony, the Arno-alike engaged in some impressive acrobatics on the rooftops of Paris while carrying the torch, including ziplining across the Seine and cutting a few promos for the live broadcast. He was a bit like an opening ceremony Forrest Gump, or perhaps more akin to a cosplay convention Deadpool, flitting in and out of a Les Miserables production, the aforementioned Gojira show, and a whimsical Dionysean drag river cruise. I’m glad they’re having fun over there.
There wasn’t a ton of attention called to this guy being Arno from Assassin’s Creed—or at least Arno-adjacent, Arno-reminiscent—in the English broadcast. That’s probably for the best: A little “Assassin’s Creed Shadows, Nothing Is True, Everything Is Permitted This Fall!” action might have been a mismatch for the Olympics’ intended celebration of sportsmanship and common humanity. At the same time, if you tuned into the broadcast at the wrong time, you could be forgiven for thinking this was some other masked Parisian parkourist.
All jokes aside, this is a pretty huge stage for any videogame to feature in, particularly a ten year-old installment of a long-running franchise. A post on X, “The Everything App” from Ubisoft before the ceremony seems to confirm this was an official collaboration between the company and event organizers.
Unity was the first Assassin’s Creed to be set in France, and while it had notable technical issues at launch, now seems fondly remembered for its incredibly detailed rendition of 18th century Paris, as well as for being one of the last hurrahs of “classic” Assassin’s Creed before its RPG turn with Origins. It also makes sense for Ubisoft, a major French company, to feature in the Paris Olympic games.
