1666: Amsterdam reveals its two protagonists in a new trailer
Patrice Désilets — the designer behind the original Assassin's Creed and Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time — has released a new character trailer for 1666: Amsterdam, his long-in-development supernatural action game. The clip introduces the game's two leads in detail, giving the clearest look yet at a project that's been dormant since a 2013 cancellation at THQ Montreal. Early Access launches on Steam in 2026, and a free prologue demo is available now.
The two leads
The story centers on Noa Brooklyn, voiced by Victoria Diamond. She's The Collector — a member of the ancient Zaindaris bloodline who can see supernatural entities called The Originals. By day she walks the streets of historical Amsterdam; by night she hunts them. Her companion is Aaron, a man from 1999 who is trapped inside a cat's body, voiced by Xiao-Yi Hernan. The talking-cat-sidekick setup sounds offbeat, but it echoes the dual-timeline structure Désilets used in early Assassin's Creed titles — players will shift between ancient Amsterdam and the modern city, a mechanic that mirrors the original series' Animus framing.
The narrative spans multiple eras: 1333, 1666, 1999, and the present day. That scope, combined with the horror-inflected tone, signals a more personal project than Creed sequels. The two protagonists also appeared on the cover of Edge magazine alongside the trailer drop.
The credibility question
The announcement isn't without baggage. The prologue demo — released at Summer Game Fest on June 5, 2026 — landed to mixed reviews on Steam, sitting around 50% positive. Complaints centered on pacing and dialogue, and the studio was forced to apologize after players spotted AI-generated placeholder assets in the build. GamesRadar confirmed Panache Digital Games acknowledged the issue and committed to replacing all AI assets before Early Access. A separate report from Pure Xbox revealed Microsoft had originally lined up as publisher before withdrawing — leaving the Montreal studio (~70 developers) fully independent.
The protagonists of 1666: Amsterdam on the cover of Edge magazine.
What's available and when
The free prologue demo is live on Steam now and runs roughly 30 minutes. Early Access for the full game is planned for later in 2026 on PC (Steam); no price has been announced. Console versions are on the roadmap but aren't expected until 2027 at the earliest, with no platforms confirmed. If you enjoyed the early Assassin's Creed games and don't mind a rough indie edge, the demo is worth trying — just go in with calibrated expectations.