We Won’t Be Getting Assassin’s Creed This Year

This may be overdue, but we won’t be getting Assassin’s Creed this year as Ubisoft decided to take a step back and give the popular franchise some space to breathe. A year without an Assassin’s Creed game released? It’s almost too hard to imagine.

• Assassin’s Creed will be taking a break, with no new release in 2016
• The next title of the franchise is rumored to be named Assassin’s Creed Empire, to take place in Egypt
• Ubisoft declared they want to take a step back and re-examine the game, as well as working on better and more stable mechanics
• Ubisoft also confirmed Watch Dogs 2 for the next fiscal year (April 1st, 2016 – March 31st, 2017)

Most fans of the series have seen this coming, and some would even go as far as saying that it’s needed. Ubisoft kept their yearly releases, putting out one installment after another. While fans were more than glad to see the story continue, it can be said that the quality of the games have suffered. Clearly, Ubisoft has the story lined up, which would explain their rush to launch the games, but that left a huge gap in terms of the game’s stability.

It became a bit of running joke. Gamers who purchased an Assassin’s Creed game would know that, for some, it would not be playable until Ubisoft released four to five major updates. In essence, players pre-ordering the game or buying it upon launch became beta participants. That was usually why the first week of release turned out low numbers of sales. Ubisoft took their feedback and fixed all the issues before the next batch of fans were ready to purchase it around the second week. At that point, they were assured that most of the major flaws were repaired.

It showed for most installments. Assassin’s Creed Unity was deemed mostly unplayable for a long time and was generally considered a failure in the eyes of the fans. This was in spite of new mechanics, and, admittedly, a pretty spectacular Paris to explore. The next and latest Assassin’s Creed Syndicate, however, fared a little better. While it was still littered with issues that players have come to actually expect from Ubisoft, it received excellent reviews.

Still, the developer is ready to give the series a break. They’re ready to “step back and re-examine” the franchise, and are taking the year off to “evolve the game mechanics”. It’s all for the purpose of delivering Assassin’s Creed fans a game they deserve and one that will, hopefully, hold true to the title’s potential. It’s a beautifully crafted world that’s teeming with interesting stories. Ubisoft only needs to reconsider their approach and think of what they did right with games like Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood.

So, the tradition of a yearly release will be broken. However, that seems like a popular idea even from those already waiting for the next installment. The series has nine main games released since 2007, and that’s without the near dozen other “annexes”. Perhaps some time off will be beneficial, and it will give Ubisoft time to bring the highly promising series back on track. And, reportedly, they will certainly be back in the future.

The news does not mark the end of the Assassin’s Creed franchise. It’s merely a hiatus, even though the word would only be applicable for this particular series. One year off is run-of-the-mill for most major franchises out there. Not for AC though. The story is not dead; it’s just taking a well-needed nap.

Rumors have it that the next installment will be back eventually, called Assassin’s Creed Empire, which will take place in Egypt. The potential there hardly even needs description, with the incredible culture of the Egyptians, temples, pyramids, and mysterious cities that are almost tailor-made for the franchise.

Perhaps, finally, Ubisoft has gathered confidence in other series that they can afford to give Assassin’s Creed a break. With the newly confirmed Watch Dogs 2, For Honor, South Park’s Fractured But Whole, and Ghost Recon Widlands arriving in the next fiscal year, they have more faith they can survive well without AC.

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