When cast as Bayek, Abubakar Salim had been told he would be acting for an animated series. It was not until near the end of production he realized it was for an Assassin's Creed title.
For Assassin's Creed Origins, the gameplay has been completely reworked. Unlike previous games, which's campaign story-line is entirely linear, Assassin's Creed Origins has been made into an 'Action RPG'. Previous entries, such as 'Assassin's Creed Unity' and 'Assassin's Creed Syndicate' have included RPG elements such as skill trees and leveling systems, but now the series is going full RPG for their next prequel entry. Multiple quests and activities have been spread throughout the map of Ancient Egypt, where the player can choose what they'd like to do. The leveling system determines the difficulty of enemies and the combat has been revamped, to a more open skill-based combat.
One of very few "open world" games which realistically includes children as part of the general population (exceptions obviously being games that center around kid protagonists, like the Harry Potter series).
The Assassins Creed series has creatively tied in fictional Assassin and Templar characters within factual historical accounts. Origins will follow an original storyline surrounding the founding of the Assassin Brotherhood. The first game is set in 1191 in the Middle East and centers around Al Mualim and his brotherhood. This historical account is closer to the true origin of the "Hashashins" (later loosely termed "Assassins") who were a group of Nizari Ismalis who took to killing in an "underhanded way", fabled to have studied under "The Mentor" also known as the "Old Man on the Mountain" (nicknames for Al Mualim) who in reality mastered a stronghold at Masayaf.
When outside the Animus numerous Files confirm Assassin's Creed (2016) as canon to the series, as a file references Alan Rikken and Abstergo in Madrid, both of which are part of the movie.