Ubisoft's Quebec branch, one of the game publisher's many studios around the world, has announced that it's in the early stages of development on a future installment of the Assassin's Creed franchise.
Which installment that will be and when it will be released is unknown, though typical triple-A titles can take three years or longer to create. On the other hand, Ubisoft's development cycles are sometimes truncated to accommodate the Assassin's Creed franchise's annual release schedule.
If you pay attention to such things, you may be wondering why Ubisoft decided to share this as "news" since it's well known that every major Ubisoft studio has a team that's constantly involved in developing the Assassin's Creed games. Various teams inside Ubisoft Montreal have always taken the lead on the franchise, but most of the other Ubisoft studios typically help out by crafting visual or audio assets for the games, boss battles, or even entire maps and game levels. This upcoming entry is a big deal for Quebec because it marks the first time that a studio other than Montreal has been given the reigns for a major-console Assassin's Creed title.
Another reason this was announced now is that Ubisoft Quebec has just received an investment of $28 million, $4 million of which is earmarked for additional studio space. The developer's current 350 employees will be joined by 100 new hires over the next three years.
It's not surprising that Ubisoft would funnel so much money into studios building Assassin's Creed games, since it's become the company's flagship franchise. Ubisoft Quebec has done side work on the franchise since Assassin's Creed Brotherhood, the third entry. The seventh major console game in the series, Assassin's Creed Unity, is set for release this fall. Unity will be the series' first title made exclusively for next-generation consoles like Xbox One and PlayStation 4, and the first to introduce four-player co-op as an option. The trailer for Assassin's Creed Unity is embedded below.
Ubisoft is believed to also be working on another installment for last-gen consoles, including PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Code-named Comet, this title is thought to continue the story of Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, with more pirating gameplay on the Atlantic Ocean. In a departure from past games in the series, Comet may feature a protagonist who's not an assassin but a Templar.
A big-screen adaptation of Assassin's Creed is planned with Michael Fassbender attached to star and co-produce. It was announced back in April that Justin Kurzel would serve as the film's director, but no release date has been solidified.
