Assassin's Creed III, Ubisoft's latest entry in the successful franchise, broke company sales records with 7 million units sold, according to Gamespot.
AC3 marked the first time since 2009 that the studio introduced a new protagonist and time period. Connor Kenway, a half-European, half-Native-American Assassin takes center stage in a Revolutionary Era tale, leaving behind the suave Italian Ezio.
Apart from sales, Gamespot notes that gamers have accrued "82 centuries of game time" and engaged in "more than 5 billion multiplayer sessions since launch."
Tony Key, Ubisoft's senior vice president of sales and marketing, admits that "The reception for Assassin's Creed III has been exceptional, and this success has positioned the game among the best sellers of the 2012 holiday season"
While critics noted that Assassin's Creed III is marred by several unfortunate technical issues, the reception has been largely positive, with review scores generally landing around the mid-80s.
The game's developers started fresh with a new engine called Anvil Next, which introduces all-new situational animations, increases the amount of non-playable characters (NPC's) that can inhabit the game space, and allows players to fluidly navigate the uneven surfaces and tree branches of the American frontier.