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Assassins Creed has been one of Ubisofts marquee franchises since 2007, so it only makes sense that another entry is on the horizon. As part of its earnings report today, Ubisoft president Yves Guillemot revealed that the company shipped 12 million copies of Assassins Creed III. The next line writing itself, Guillemot also confirmed that a new Assassins Creed would be out in the next fiscal year--between April 2013 and March 2014.
Get back to basics
Weve enjoyed watching the series grow and evolve with each new entry, but the next Assassin's Creed needs to refocus its efforts on what made us love the series in the first place. We didnt embrace the series for Homesteads, tower defense minigames, or Portal-esque first-person puzzles. We play Assassins Creed because being an assassin is fun.
It should be next-gen
Both Microsoft and Sony seem poised to sell new consoles by the end of the year, and Assassins Creed has always been a cutting-edge series. Though the turnaround from current- to next-gen seems fast for a title as complex as AC, the series has to move quickly or risk being left in the dust by its triple-A competitors. And dont expect scaled down versions on current consoles, because Ubisoft isnt in the practice of keeping its top franchises on outdated hardware.
Its fall launch date should be revealed alongside the PS4
Its going to be a next-gen holiday season (hopefully!), and Ubisoft is known for its heavy day-one support of new consoles. We expect that, similar to the Wii U in 2012, youll see both PS4 and Xbox 720 get new Rabbids, Your Shape, and Just Dance games, all of which will be anchored by a brand new Assassins Creed. Much like Call of Duty, AC is the kind of huge series that easily sells more than 10 million copies during the holidays, so its unlikely Ubi would give up that quarterly cash cow.
Put Patrice Dsilets back in charge
How can Ubisoft get a next-gen Assassins Creed ready just one year after a huge game like ACIII? Its all thanks to Ubis incredible network of developers producing multiple titles at once. Guillemot confirmed a new team is working on the next Assassins Creed, so we expect multiple studios all over the world have been plugging away at the game for months, if not years. But no matter how far along the game might be, Assassins Creed III proved that the series needs some new (by which we mean old) creative oversight, which we hope can come from former series director Patrice Dsilets.
Make this new assassin an actual assassin again
So who will this new assassin be? Will he (or she!) be a brusque rule breaker like Altair? A charismatic seeker of vengeance like Ezio? A stoic outsider like Connor? No matter who it is, we want the character to be defined by the same back-to-basics approach we desire from the gameplay. In other words, how about we see this assassin kill people with some actual purpose again?
Introduce a new current day hero
When Guillemot says that the next Assassins Creed will have a new hero, we hope he isnt just referring to whoever you meet in the past. Without spoiling anything, Assassins Creed III ends the tale of current day hero Desmond, meaning the Animus needs some new blood, and we hope she or he can be completely unrelated to their predecessor.
It should take place in the Old West...
Assassin's Creed III succeeded in proving that the franchise's combat adapts quite well to the existence of firearms, so long as Templar aren't marching the streets with submachine guns. It also works well in less densely packed locations, making us think that instead of jumping to another country for the next game, the franchise should jump to another coast, landing whatever assassin we're going to be playing as in the Old West.
...or China...
But if the series wants to move on to a new continent, Assassins Creed will find a perfectly acceptable locale in Asia, though theyd have to turn back the clock some from the American Revolution. The CG short film Assassins Creed: Embers not only detailed the final days in the life of series star Ezio--it introduced fans to Shao Jun. Hailing from China, the young female assassin ran all the way to Italy, seeking protection from Templars. After Ezio assists in dispatching her trackers, he hands her a mysterious gift and sends her back to Asia. Seems like a lot of narrative for a character well never see again.
...or in the future
We've stood atop stone towers and surveyed ancient civilizations for five Assassin's Creed games now. That's cool and all, and we appreciate exploring locales that aren't seen in most of the other AAA games released every year, but we're starting to want for something different. Something... futuristic.
Keep evolving multiplayer
We're still shocked by how much we enjoyed Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood's multiplayer, and we were happy to see Ubisoft continue to adapt and change the features as sequels were released. We hope this trend continues, and keeps most of the innovations found in Assassin's Creed III's competitive (and cooperative) modes.
