All Ship Pets in AC Black Flag Resynced – Complete Unlock Guide

Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced launched July 9, 2026, and Ubisoft Singapore’s remake immediately drew attention with a cross-promotional #BoardTheFeed campaign that enlisted Dead by Daylight, Control, McDonald’s, and others, as reported by Game Rant. Alongside the social media stunt, the official Assassin’s Creed account dropped a redeemable code for a free ship pet. This guide covers every pet you can unlock for the Jackdaw, the exact steps to redeem the limited-time monkey code, and which companions are genuinely worth chasing.

Pets in Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced are a new addition, with animal companions that players can find and add to the Jackdaw that weren’t in the original game. Pets don’t serve any actual gameplay function in the Black Flag remake—they’re just cosmetic. You can equip them in the Inventory screen, at which point they appear on the deck of the Jackdaw and in your cabin. Their behaviour might change depending on what’s going on around them (such as becoming more excited during combat encounters or storms), but they don’t provide you any advantage or change how things work.

So why bother? Atmosphere. The Caribbean setting lives on personality details—sea shanties, deck banter, and now a monkey scampering around the rigging or a cat lounging by the wheel. They tie into the Jackdaw customization loop (sails, figureheads, hull trim, Officers) without touching the naval-combat balance.

There are four pets available to players in Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced—plus the free Shipmate Monkey claimed from the Animus Hub store, bringing the in-game total to five. Two are earned through gameplay, and one is locked behind the Deluxe Edition. The Dark Animus Familiar comes from the Animus Projects system, and the Shipmate Monkey is claimed via a promotional code outside the game itself.

Local Events are the main in-game source. Once the hideout has been unlocked, a Local Event called Cat Distribution System becomes available in Great Inagua at coordinates 819, 441. Albert the Monkey is found by going to Havana and the ship docked outside at coordinates 226, 568, where there’s a local event called Monkey Business. Kill the Spanish soldiers on the ship and interact with the monkey to add him to the team. If you’re farming Reales for Jackdaw upgrades, these events sit right along the regular sailing routes.

Free Gameplay Pets: Soot and Albert

Even without changing the actual moment-to-moment gameplay, pets are still one of the few interactive cosmetics you can unlock throughout the game. Thankfully, you won’t have to progress very far before you can unlock all four pets currently available in Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced, as two of them can be earned right after finishing the introduction missions of the story.

Animus Project Reward: Dark Animus Familiar

Open the Animus Projects menu and select the Eye in the Dark reward track. The Dark Animus Familiar is the first reward available on this progression path and costs 600 Data Fragments to unlock. Data Fragments are primarily earned by completing Anomaly side missions that appear throughout the Caribbean. If you’re already tackling the Animus Hub for the crossover AC Shadows content, you’ll hit this milestone naturally.

Deluxe-Edition Exclusive: Gold Tom

Gold Tom is the only pet that can’t be earned through gameplay. Instead, it’s included as part of the Deluxe Edition through the Master Assassin Naval Pack, which also contains several exclusive cosmetics and customization items for the Jackdaw. If you’re playing the Standard Edition, there’s currently no in-game method of unlocking Gold Tom separately.

Myth: Pets Give Stat Bonuses or Passive Abilities

Nothing mechanical. The Shipmate Monkey is a purely cosmetic companion with no combat stats, no passive bonuses, and no effect on the Jackdaw’s performance. The same applies to every other pet. If someone tells you a cat boosts morale or a monkey speeds up boarding, they’re fabricating.

Myth: You Need to Own the Game to Redeem the Code

The first major one is the Shipmate Monkey companion, which you can nab for free without having to buy anything. In fact, you don’t even need to own the game to get it. Redeem now, buy later—the reward sits on your Ubisoft account until you’re ready.

Myth: The Shipmate Monkey Is the Same as Albert

It is easy to mix up the Shipmate Monkey with the game’s other primate companions. For your better understanding, Albert the Monkey is unlocked through the Monkey Business Local Event in Havana, where players raid a docked Spanish ship to rescue him. The Shipmate Monkey is a separate, code-exclusive cosmetic variant.

The current Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced Twitch Drops campaign began on July 8 and is set to run until August 2, 2026. The active launch campaign includes the Rustborne Swords (watch an eligible stream for two hours) and the Cheetah Claw Cat (watch an eligible stream for four hours). The Cheetah Claw Cat functions like the other pets but with a unique golden-patterned design. To claim these drops, players first need to link their Ubisoft account with Twitch. This should be done before watching, as unlinked accounts can sometimes cause delays or stop rewards from appearing properly.