Ubisoft is committed to making a new Assassin’s Creed game every year and is determined not to see the series collapse from franchise fatigue. How?
“We are making sure the teams who are creating the different iterations have enough time — two years, three years, so that they can take risk and they can change the concept enough so that it can be appealing and fresh,” Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot told me this week during E3.
He said Ubisoft currently has three Assassin’s Creed games in development. He didn’t say anything about them, but it’s easy to make some safe guesses. Presumably the count of three refers to 1) this year’s game, Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, 2) next year’s game (Assassin’s Creed V? Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood II?), which should be well into development now and, 3) unless he was referring to a mobile spin-off or something, 2015’s Assassin’s Creed.
Guillemot: “Our job is to make sure the teams have enough power, enough energy and enough time to take the necessary steps to create a high quality game.”
“Really, what we see is that we can have the capacity to regularly come with innovation,” Guillemot told me. “That is, for me, the formula: if you can really change the game on a regular basis and bring in innovation your fans want a product very regularly. Our job is to make sure the teams have enough power, enough energy and enough time to take the necessary steps to create a high quality game.”
Historically, these games have been made by multiple teams and by rotating teams, with different groups within Ubisoft Montreal leading the development of the games’ campaigns, while satellite studios make everything from multiplayer to specific side missions.
Ubisoft is releasing Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag this year which does, in fact, appear to be quite different from last year’s ACIII. Last year’s game was a a game mostly set on land with a focus on a new, conflicted half-British/half-Native-American assassin. This year’s is set largely across the islands of the Caribbean sea with a focus on a new assassin who still often behaves more like a pirate. Last year’s game had some naval combat. This year’s game is essentially an open-world sailing/exploration adventure.
ACIII may have had its flaws and it’s impossible to say how good ACIV will be, but it’s at least clear that the latter is no rush job, is brimming with ideas and content and that, yes, somehow, Ubisoft really is able to make a gargantuan new AC every year. Pretty impressive.
Comments
13 responses to “Ubisoft Has Three Assassin’s Creeds In Development, Vows Innovation”
I don’t think I will get anymore AC games. Didn’t even finish the 3rd one. But I will probably get it again if it was set Japan with samurais! Pirates does not cut it for me.
Need to make each game then VASTLY different to the ones before. Hell, I’ve usually said no to the idea of an asian based AC as it’d be stereotypical but at this point, why not? But why Japanese? An Indonesian one with its jungle setting would be enthralling in its beauty too. Or a Chinese one?
Also, let’s get a Russian one going!
Lets get one set in the FUTURE too.
How ’bout 1770s’ Australia 😀
I’ll only get new ones if they have interesting settings. The last game was kinda lame in that aspect. French or Russian revolution would be interesting. Or Ancient Rome.
Yeah, I don’t think having AC yearly made, is a really good idea. Just look at the game’s content been going down-hill for some time now.
Yeah that’s what we need to revive the series – MORE of them. Look how well that worked for the Need for Speed franchise.
I gave up a quarter of the way through AC3 because it was just so boring and, well, unnecessary.
Australian one, with history of Aboriginals and first White Settlers. Played from either side. Something like that would interest me. Something vastly different from what we have seen before.
That’s a cool idea, I’d play that. Sadly, I don’t think many people apart from aussies would be terribly interested.
I don’t just mean Australians. It could be done with the first arrival of Europeans and Native Americans.
Haha, great minds think alike. Only just scrolled down to your comment 😛
Innovation? So I guess since the next one is pirate assassin, we can expect ninja assassin, followed by zombie assassin, followed by Samuel L. Jackson assassin.
AND YOU WILL KNOW MY NAME IS THE LORD WHEN I LAY MY VENGEANCE UPON THEE.
How ’bout “Naked-Swan-Dive” Assassin 😛
I expect another Vita version, Ubisoft mentioned they were happy with how it performed, I also enjoyed it far more than ACIII (disjointed story and all), despite all the bugs.
So if they deliver another title which has a bit more polish it will be really great.
AC IV looked ‘quite different’ from previous iterations? Hmm…
Because I could swear I saw the same ship combat and the exact same primary game mechanics, this time with jungle leaves instead of forest brush.
After the lame excuse for a game, FarCry3 is. I don’t know if I could stand the island jungle scenario again… good point! Really Assassins Creed 4’s setting needs multiplayer like Red Dead Redemptions.
As some who played maybe 2 hours of AC Brotherhood and got bored and haven’t touch one since, I’m actually thinking of getting AC4.
I’m more a once every 2-3 years for a franchise type of person.