1666 Amsterdam, from the Creator of Assassin's Creed, Launches into Early Access in Just 2 Weeks

Time travel as a cat in 1666: Amsterdam

While it might be a hot minute until you can play the witchy Assassin's Creed Codename Hexe, you can start playing a new witchy game from the creator of Assassin's Creed in just a couple of weeks. On Monday, Panache Digital Games announced 1666: Amsterdam will be released into early access on Aug. 25.

Panache Digital Games was co-founded by Patrice Désilets, the creator of Assassin's Creed and creative director of its first two entries. After a long development cycle that began in the early 2010s while Désilets was at THQ Montreal, 1666: Amsterdam was formally revealed at Summer Game Fest in June.

1666: Amsterdam is a narrative adventure set in two distinct times, 1666 and 1999. In 1666, you play as a witch investigating Amsterdam's secrets while joined by a playable cat companion... who's possessed by the consciousness of a man summoned from 1999.

A free demo was released alongside the SGF announcement, and it was rough, to say the least. "There's an interesting theme here, but it can’t be saved by the awful gameplay and writing. After 15 long years, 1666: Amsterdam needs to go back to the drawing board," Polygon's Ford James wrote about his time with the demo. That demo wasn't helped by the studio confirming it used generative AI for "some in-game portraits and external marketing assets." The studio said "the Early Access and full game will not include any assets generated by AI."

1666: Amsterdam will be released Aug. 25 for Windows PC via Steam and Epic Games Store. In an update on Steam, Panache Digital Games said the early access version will include the "first piece" of the campaign, which will run about 15 hours. It predicts early access will last about a year with several "major" updates on the way.