Dodgers Stud Cody Bellinger Stars in ‘Assassin’s Creed Valhalla’

In Thursday’s Hot Clicks: Cody Bellinger’s new video game role, the return of MACtion and more.

Meet Otta Sluggasson

Cody Bellinger’s exciting autumn is about to get even better. 

Having already won the World Series with the Dodgers, Bellinger’s next big accomplishment will be a role in the popular video game series Assassin’s Creed. The newest installment in the series, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, comes out Nov. 10, and Bellinger is featured as a character in the game. 

This is no minor cameo, either. Bellinger appears to have a somewhat significant role in the game. He even did his own motion-capture and voice-over work for his character. 

Bellinger appears as a Viking named Otta Sluggasson, who game manufacturer Ubisoft describes as “a Dane with a knack for hitting rocks very, very far.” The company released a video showing some behind-the-scenes footage of Bellinger’s motion capture and a look at Otta in the actual game. 

“I’m excited. I love video games, so when I heard I had the opportunity to be a character in a big video game, I was excited, I really was,” Bellinger told ESPN. “I’m kind of a video game nerd. My brother and I played Assassin’s Creed back in the day and used to love it. The graphics are so realistic. It’s a game that will take up a lot of your time.”

Bellinger said that players have to beat his character in a challenge to advance in the game’s story mode. Details are scant but it looks like, judging by a few clues in the video above, you can use a baseball-type swing to launch rocks at your opponents. That would be pretty cool, but it would be even better if you could also ride into battle with a 6' 6" Viking named Thor (based off Noah Syndergaard), pelting your enemies with stones at 100 mph. Maybe in the sequel. 

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Dan Gartland
DAN GARTLAND

Dan Gartland is the writer and editor of Sports Illustrated’s flagship daily newsletter, SI:AM, covering everything an educated sports fan needs to know. He joined the SI staff in 2014, having previously been published on Deadspin and Slate. Gartland, a graduate of Fordham University, is a former Sports Jeopardy! champion (Season 1, Episode 5).