Ubisoft has shared an in-depth look at the technology powering Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced. This reveals how the beloved pirate adventure has been completely rebuilt for PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 5 Pro.

Originally it was released on the PS3 and later became a launch title for the PS4. Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag remains one of the franchise’s most celebrated entries.

According to Ubisoft, modern hardware gave the team the opportunity to reimagine Edward Kenway’s adventure using the latest version of the Anvil Engine.

Ultimately bringing significant graphical, technical, and gameplay improvements while preserving the identity of the original game.

Launching on July 9, Black Flag Resynced introduces support for 60 FPS gameplay, HDR, Dolby Atmos audio and DualSense haptic feedback.

Built From the Ground Up, Not Just Remastered

Rather than simply increasing the game’s resolution, Ubisoft rebuilt Black Flag using its newest version of the Anvil Engine.

Nearly every major system has been modernized. This allows the development team to take full advantage of the PS5’s SSD, GPU, and advanced rendering capabilities. The result is a version of Black Flag designed specifically for current-generation hardware instead of simply adapting the original release.

A More Dynamic Caribbean with Real-Time Ray Tracing

One of the biggest upgrades comes from the game’s entirely new lighting system.

Unlike the original release, which relied on pre-baked lighting, Black Flag Resynced features fully dynamic lighting powered by hardware-accelerated ray tracing. This allows environments to react naturally as the time of day or weather changes, creating far more realistic scenes throughout the Caribbean.

Interiors now respond naturally to sunlight entering through windows and doorways, while changing weather conditions dramatically alter the atmosphere during exploration and naval combat.

Ubisoft has also introduced:

• Ray-Traced Global Illumination, allowing light to bounce naturally between surfaces.
• Ray-Traced Specular Reflections, creating more realistic reflections on wet wood, polished metal, water, and ocean spray.
• Improved colour bleeding and more accurate environmental shading.

Ray-Traced Global Illumination will be available across every graphics mode on both PS5 and PS5 Pro, while PS5 Pro users receive expanded ray-tracing support across all visual modes.

No More Noticeable Pop-In

Another major improvement comes from Ubisoft’s new Micropolygon Geometry Pipeline.

Instead of swapping between simplified object models as players move around the world, Black Flag Resynced continuously adjusts object detail based on camera distance and visibility.

Because the PlayStation 5’s ultra-fast SSD can stream assets almost instantly, environments transition smoothly from distant landscapes to close-up detail without the distracting “pop-in” effect often seen in older games.

The result is a far more seamless world where cities, jungles, ships, and islands maintain visual consistency no matter where players are exploring.

PS5 Pro Delivers Even Better Visuals

Players on PlayStation 5 Pro will benefit from several exclusive enhancements that push the game’s visuals even further.

Thanks to the console’s more powerful GPU, Ubisoft has been able to expand ray tracing across every graphics mode while maintaining higher frame rates and improved image quality.

PS5 Pro enhancements include:

• Expanded Ray-Traced Global Illumination.
• Ray-Traced Specular Reflections across all graphics modes.
• Improved image reconstruction using the latest version of PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR).
• Better overall visual fidelity while maintaining smooth performance.

These upgrades help reduce the visual gap between Performance and Fidelity modes, giving players sharper image quality without sacrificing responsiveness.

Character rendering has also received a major overhaul on PS5 Pro.

Instead of relying entirely on traditional hair textures, Ubisoft now uses strand-based hair technology, allowing individual strands to move naturally with wind and environmental effects.

Edward Kenway benefits from strand-based hair rendering across every graphics mode on PS5 Pro, while nearby NPCs also receive the enhancement during gameplay in Fidelity Mode.

During cinematics, every character uses strand-based hair rendering regardless of graphics settings, resulting in much more realistic animations and movement.

Weather That Actually Affects the World

Black Flag Resynced also introduces a much more advanced weather simulation system through Anvil’s Atmos framework.

Rather than simply triggering visual weather effects, Atmos continuously simulates environmental variables including:

• Temperature
• Humidity
• Wind
• Vapour density

These systems constantly interact with one another, allowing weather to evolve naturally over time instead of following scripted events.

Wind doesn’t just influence clouds and storms—it also affects:

• Ship sails
• Trees and vegetation
• Cloth physics
• Smoke and particles
• Character hair
• Ocean movement

This creates a world that feels much more connected, with environmental systems working together to produce realistic weather across the Caribbean.

The Ocean Has Been Completely Rebuilt

Given that naval exploration is one of Black Flag’s defining features, Ubisoft has also invested heavily in redesigning the ocean.

The new physically based water rendering system introduces:

• Improved tessellation.
• Volumetric foam generation.
• Dynamic bubble simulation.
• More realistic wave behaviour.
• Enhanced water interaction with ships and weather.

The sea now reacts more naturally to changing wind conditions, storms, and naval combat, making sailing feel even more immersive than before.

Whether navigating calm waters or battling enemy ships during rough weather, the Caribbean feels significantly more alive than it did in the original release.

Designed to Be the Ultimate Black Flag Experience

While many remasters focus primarily on increasing resolution and frame rate. Ubisoft says Black Flag Resynced aims to modernize every aspect of the experience without losing what made the original so memorable.

The studio hopes this will become the definitive way to experience Edward Kenway’s legendary pirate adventure.

Whether you’re returning after more than a decade or setting sail for the very first time. Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced looks set to deliver one of Ubisoft’s most ambitious modernizations yet.