Assassin's Creed Origins received critical acclaim when it was released last year. The game takes players to ancient Egypt – an era which fans have been demanding to go almost since the series' inception. But could the next game in the series also take fans to a much-requested time period?

Michele Nucera, a concept artist at Ubisoft Milan who worked on Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, has posted several images on ArtStation that have got Assassin's Creed fans talking. One image titled "Vikings' Hell," is a horrifying portrayal of lightning cracking out of a blood-red sky, as a huge ship with a triple-serpent masthead comes ashore. Viking warriors approach the ship, walking across a snow-covered battlefield with their bright red capes ripped to pieces and their weapons in hand.

Another image (below) depicts Vikings sailing in longboats in the dark, surveying fortresses on hilltops. On ArtStation, it is titled "Vikings Village," but when opened in a new tab, the file name is michele-nucera-assassincreedragnarok-bay-09.jpg. It has led fans to wonder whether the next Assassin's Creed game will be called Assassin's Creed Ragnarok and will be set in the era of the Vikings. Fans have been asking for Ubisoft to take the franchise to this period of time for a while now and so many are delighted at the possibility.

Assassin's Creed Ragnarok concept art

Assassin's Creed Ragnarok wouldn't be Ubisoft's first venture into Viking territory, so to speak. The publisher also released For Honor, which counts the Vikings as one of its playable factions. It should also be noted that just last week, Assassin's Creed Origins received some For Honor-themed DLC that introduced some Viking weaponry.

Many Assassin's Creed fans have also latched onto the fact that Origins' protagonist Bayek can unlock some armor from the Dress of the Northern Realm set. This particular armor puts Bayek in tartan and fur and includes Celtic symbols, and this could all tie-in to a future, Viking-themed game. Moreover, a survey that Ubisoft sent to Assassin's Creed fans in December of last year also asked how people would feel about an Assassin's Creed game that featured Viking invasions.

However, it's also quite possible that nothing will ever come of this concept art. When asked for comment, Ubisoft stressed the fact that Nucera describes the images as "a PERSONAL concept to explore an idea about the vikings life." Nucera is also a huge fan of Vikings, as there are other Viking-themed artworks on the ArtStation account that date back two years. Assassin's Creed Ragnarok would be a fantastic idea, but right now it seems far more like that the series could be headed to China next instead.

Assassin's Creed: Origins is available now for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

Source: Michele Nucera - ArtStation