A park ranger in a hood at the opening of the 2024 Olympics turned out to be a reference to the Assassin’s Creed Unity game

Now we know where all the assassins went — they were preparing for the Olympics.

The opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympics in Paris impressed the audience with a vivid presentation of French culture. Among the various elements of the show, a mysterious flag bearer in a white hood jumping on the roofs of Paris attracted special attention.

I wasn’t certain how I was feeling about not having the Olympics Opening ceremony in a stadium for spectacle reasons but then we got Stomp and an Assassin’s Creed parkour bit and I’m all in. pic.twitter.com/S702MZNVUl

— Nick Topolos: Digital Nomad in Training (@707Odyssey) July 26, 2024

Initially, many people perceived the appearance of this character as a coincidence, as his outfit did not fully correspond to the iconic design from the Assassin’s Creed series of games. However, it later became known that it was a purposeful video game reference.

Ubisoft, the publisher of the Assassin’s Creed series, confirmed the connection between the parkourist at the ceremony and the game. In their tweet, they wrote: «Keep an eye on the rooftops of Paris — Arno can watch from above», hinting at the protagonist of Assassin’s Creed Unity.

Keep an eye on Paris’ rooftops—Arno might just be watching from above. 👀🦅 pic.twitter.com/opqDU04Xgo

— Assassin’s Creed (@assassinscreed) July 26, 2024

Released almost a decade ago, Assassin’s Creed Unity is part of a series set in Paris. Despite a difficult start due to technical problems, the game later gained recognition for its striking recreation of the French capital. The realism of virtual Paris in Unity was so high that the data from the game used to restore Notre Dame Cathedral after a devastating fire.

As a reminder, the dubious historical accuracy and alleged disrespect for Japanese culture in the game Assassin’s Creed Shadows led to a scandal, which continues to flare up.