2016 has been the first year since 2009 that hasn’t seen a core entry in the Assassin’s Creed series, and Ubisoft isn’t sure that will change in 2017.
While it was generally expected that the new Assassin’s Creed – rumoured to be set in Egypt – would launch next year, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot told GameSpot that we might be in for a wait.
Guillemot explained:
What we saw in the development of the next [Assassin’s Creed] was that we had an opportunity to take it to another level. So we said we’ll take all the time it takes to make the experience fantastic. It was feasible because we have other games. There’s a huge potential in this game to revolutionise the IP, so we said, ‘Let’s make sure we change our model so we have more time and that we can bring back a greater experience.
He added simply that ‘it’ll be back when it’s ready’, which is a very encouraging sign for fans of the franchise.
After all, franchises like Zelda and Uncharted don’t get releases every year, and they’re synonymous with a certain degree of quality. It’s almost as if taking your time on a product is better than rushing it out – who knew?
In addition, Ubisoft editorial VP Tommy Francois recently told IGN that a new Far Cry game is in development, but 2017 probably won’t see that release either.
He said:
We believe Alpha for these games needs to be one year before release. We’re trying to achieve that. That’s super f***ing blunt, I don’t even know if I’m allowed to say this. This is the goal we’re going for: Alpha one year before, more quality, more polish. So if this means biting the [bullet] and not having an Assassin’s game or a Far Cry [in 2017], f*** it.
Of course, Far Cry hasn’t been known to release annually and the start of 2016 saw Far Cry Primal hit consoles, so its omission in 2017 wouldn’t be all that surprising.
2016 still isn’t short on Assassin’s Creed action though, as Ubisoft clearly has some kind of compulsion. In addition to December’s live action movie, the remastered Ezio Collection is coming to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in November.
Once again, I feel I must request that Ubisoft drop everything and brings me a new Rayman immediately – but I fear they plan to prioritise the franchises that actually make them money. Bastards.
Ewan Moore is a journalist at UNILAD Gaming who still quite hasn’t gotten out of his mid 00’s emo phase. After graduating from the University of Portsmouth in 2015 with a BA in Journalism & Media Studies (thanks for asking), he went on to do some freelance words for various places, including Kotaku, Den of Geek, and TheSixthAxis, before landing a full time gig at UNILAD in 2016.