Assassin’s Creed Black Flag real-world treasure hunt is on the way with a staggering prize

After announcing an upcoming Assassin’s Creed live show earlier in May, Ubisoft again took a turn for the unexpected on Wednesday. To tie into the upcoming launch of Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced, the publisher is partnering with the French start-up Unsolved Hunts for a real-world treasure hunt. The prize? $500,000 worth of pirate booty.

Dubbed Gold & Crystal — The Lost Treasure of Edward Kenway, after Black Flag‘s leading assassin, the treasure hunt is intended to be an “immersive pirate experience.” According to a news release, it will feature “several elements that must be deciphered: an encrypted message in a bottle, a map of the Caribbean, and a collection of letters and archives containing 15 puzzles, packed with Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced references.”

The treasure at the end of the hunt is $350,000 worth of gold coins and a crystal skull (a replica of the one from the game) valued at $150,000. The pirate booty awaits a lucky (and determined) sailor buried somewhere in the Caribbean.

The Gold & Crystal website states you don’t need to have played Black Flag or any Assassin’s Creed game to participate, because the puzzles “mainly rely on your historical knowledge, logic, common sense, and intuition.” To take part, you’ll have to purchase a pack of clues. The cheapest is $39.99 and includes digital copies, while those who want to solve their puzzles the old-fashioned way can pay $59.99 for physical copies in addition to the digital ones. More packs are available at Gold & Crystal with various add-ons, like a notebook and the Chaotic Armada board game. Pre-orders are available now, and the hunt will begin Nov. 9.

Ubisoft and Unsolved Hunts are clearly confident in the difficulty of the riddles and puzzles included in the hunt as the companies anticipate the hunt lasting between two and five years. They encourage you to tackle it as part of a team, but specify only one individual can be awarded the prize, so make sure you trust whomever you set sail with.

You won’t have to wait five years to play the next Assassin’s Creed, however. Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced will be released July 9 for PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X, and it’s looking pretty darn good.