Ubisoft has launched a real-life hunt for a $500,000 treasure in the Caribbean, tying the prize to Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced ahead of the game’s July 9 release on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and PC.
The hunt, created with Unsolved Hunts, asks players to pay at least $40 to join and solve 15 riddles before they can close in on the chest. Ubisoft and Unsolved Hunts expect the search to stretch for as long as five years, with only one player ultimately finding the treasure in the Caribbean and winning the game.
The promotion is built around a remake of the original 2013 Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, and it turns the release campaign into something closer to a global scavenger race. The treasure itself sits in a handcrafted replica of the Black Flag Resynced chest and includes minted gold coins worth $350,000 and a crystal skull with a red opal jewel embedded in it worth $150,000.
Players who want a cheaper entry point can buy the Deckhand pack for $39.99, which includes a digital version of the treasure hunt game with clues, rules and more. Those who want the full experience can pay $229.99 for the Pirate Lord tier, which bundles the physical and digital versions of the hunt game with a themed notebook, the pirate strategy game Chaotic Armada, the investigation game Amelia Davies and the Treasure of Blackbeard, one real gold coin minted for the hunt, Captain Edward Kenway’s flag, and a seal, wax and calligraphy set.
The setup leaves Ubisoft with a rare kind of launch promotion: one that is not limited to screens, trailers or preorders, but asks players to chase a real prize across the Caribbean over years rather than days. That is also the catch. The hunt is open now, but the main game does not even arrive until July 9, and the winner will need patience, cash and persistence long after the first wave of attention fades.
