Ubisoft announced the next installment of Assassin's Creed, to be released sometime before April of 2014. As usual, it's a new time period and a new hero. Goodbye, Connor!
"Today during Ubisoft's post-earnings financial call, company CEO Yves Guillemot announced that the next installment in the Assassin's Creed series will launch in Ubisoft's fiscal year 2014," writes SlashGear.
"This next game in the series will take see quite a shift. Guillemot promised that a major leap forward was coming for the Assassin's Creed series, and he indicated that the game will be developed under a new development team this time around."
While Guillemot didn't say what consoles the new game will be released on, it's safe bet there will be Xbox, Playstation and PC versions (depending on which versions of those consoles have been released by the time Assassin's Creed IV hits the market), as well as a Wii U version, if Assassin's Creed III is any indication.
No word on what time period the game will be set in. Ubisoft has previously said they would never do a World War II setting. Assuming that also extends to anything after the mid-20th Century, and that developers stick with the practice of advancing through history, AC4 could be set anytime between the late 18th Century and the early 20th.
The French Revolution seems ripe for exploration, as do the Napoleonic Wars, perhaps even the American Civil War. Or perhaps Desmond has ancestors who aren't exclusively European, or who lived before the Crusades. Ancient Egypt, feudal China, Tokugawa Japan and Asia Minor in the time of Alexander the Great all could be excellent and interesting settings.
Of course, if Ubisoft keeps milking the franchise, maybe gamers will see all of these settings fleshed out eventually. The Miles family gets around.