It seems that Ubisoft has decided to do away with side quests in Assassin's Creed Valhalla, the next entry in the critically acclaimed series, although it has been said that quests will be handled a bit differently in the upcoming title, so there's no need to worry about this just yet.
Speaking to GameSpot before yesterday's Ubisoft Forward presentation, Assassin's Creed Valhalla Narrative Director Darby McDevitt revealed that these new side quests are actually "world events," and that side quests per se are "almost non-existent."
What will make these world events interesting, however, is the fact that players will not have to go out into the game's open world and look for side quests, as these world events will be tied to the many story arcs in Assassin's Creed Valhalla — which have been revealed to be part of the main questline — and will happen spontaneously.
Ubisoft's decision to do away with side quests, in lieu of these new world events, was ultimately made in order to fit the narrative of Assassin's Creed Valhalla, since most of the game's story will be taking place in England, and Eivor is one of the invaders; having him helping English locals wouldn't make much sense.
Previous entries in the series, particularly Assassin's Creed Origins and Assassin's Creed Odyssey, shower the player with side quests, so it is nice to see a change of pace in Assassin's Creed Valhalla's approach to narrative-driven world events as opposed to side quests. Again, the game will still feature some side quests; there simply won't be as many as in previous titles.
In Assassin’s Creed® Valhalla, you are Eivor, a fierce Viking warrior raised on tales of battle and glory. Explore a dynamic and beautiful open world set against the brutal backdrop of England’s Dark Ages. Raid your enemies, grow your settlement, and build your political power in your quest to earn your place among the gods in Valhalla.
Assassin's Creed Valhalla is expected to release for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on Tuesday the 17th of November.