Assassin's Creed 3 release date announced

By Wesley Yin-Poole Published 15 February, 2012

Out in October. Has been in development for 3 years.

Assassin's Creed 3 launches on Tuesday, 30th October 2012, Ubisoft has announced.

Confirmation comes from an on-going investor call. No other details were announced, but Ubisoft boss Yves Guillemot said the development team had been working on the game for three years.

"We will push the title a lot because it's a fantastic product that the team has been working on for three years," he said. "What we have seen is just fabulous."

Ubisoft had teased that 2012 would bring a "major" new game in the Assassin's Creed franchise. Eurogamer was told this game would conclude the story of protagonist Desmond Miles before the series' doomsday date arrives in real life. That doomsday date is 2012, so we were always going to need the concluding instalment - what we now know is AC3 - this year.

PC, PlayStation 3, Wii U and Xbox 360 versions of Assassin's Creed 3 are apparently on the way. Nintendo mentioned an Assassin's Creed Wii U game when the console was unveiled at E3 last summer.

Assassin's Creed 3 is rumoured to be set during the American Revolution.

Picture of Wesley.

About Wesley Yin-Poole

Wesley is Eurogamer's news editor. He likes news, interviews, and more news. He also likes Street Fighter more than anyone can get him to shut up about it.

Read more articles from Wesley by visiting the Wesley Yin-Poole archive page.

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Comments (72) Latest comment 3 months ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • trufflesonline #1 3 months ago

    I'm actually looking forward to this. It'll be interesting to see which era it ends up being set in.

  • insincere_dave #2 3 months ago

    Post deleted at 18:34:48 15-02-2012

  • lazyboyblue #3 3 months ago

    This is such an vital entry for creed IP. Was kind of hoping they would take a bit longer and bring some real innovation to their next game. Fingers crossed they still can though.

  • Abdu@EG #4 3 months ago

    Milk it more until it dies.

  • BillPoon #5 3 months ago

    Reeaaaalllly bored of these now.

  • wtc0771 #6 3 months ago

    @lazyboyblue "Yves Guillemot said the development team has been working on the game for three years."

    How much longer do you want? 30 years?

  • Jay-ITFC #7 3 months ago

    Was hoping for an 18-24 month break after the letdown of Revelations, but I guess Ubi might want to end the Desmond arc of the AC franchise before the next-gen consoles hit.

  • CaptainQuint #8 3 months ago

    By the time they've finished bleeding this franchise dry it'll look like a spent and beaten whore who can't even get work in porno anymore.

    Shame, if they put these out every three years it could have run and run. Starved fans are far more loyal than bored ones.

  • FuzzyDuck #9 3 months ago

    Series fatigue Ubi. II was good, Brotherhood was the same game, didn't even look at Revelations.

  • walidb123 #10 3 months ago

    i'm losing track. i like to take time playing games which i like but the AC games are coming way too quickly for me and it's getting a bit grating. i think that's a shame because it has potential for a lot more creativity if they gave it a breather.

  • RandomTerrain #11 3 months ago

    These games are generally great and well made.. but I am definitely feeling a big Assassin's Creed overload now. One game every year can only work for so long.
    Unless this is seriously different I doubt I'll pick this one up on release.

  • Triggerhappytel #12 3 months ago

    Hopefully they'll at least kill off Desmond. The blandest, most boring protagonist of the generation by a long way.

  • callum9999 #13 3 months ago

    @CaptainQuint Not an argument (from a consumer perspective) I've ever understood.

    If anything, quite the opposite. If you want a 3 year break between playing them, then it means when you're ready to play the next one it will be in the bargain bin.

  • Shikasama #14 3 months ago

    I guarantee this is the same game we have already completed three times.

    With a tower defense add on.

  • bats #15 3 months ago

    the COD of platformers.

  • ucankurbaga #16 3 months ago

    Funny Ubisoft said they were done with Assassin Creed Series and this current generation consoles in previous news. Now they announce release date...

  • Nova1977 #17 3 months ago

    What, I have no idea why but I hate yearly gaming updates, but when it comes to the AC series I'm okay with it. I was, however hoping for a feudal Japan setting.

  • Acquiescence #18 3 months ago

    And then next year they'll release a spin-off game of 3. And then the year after that they'll release Assassin's Creed 4. And then the year after that...

    Yeah, it's hard to be excited anymore. Once a franchise is milked I start to lose interest.

  • koopa #19 3 months ago

    3 years, didn't they just recently had a poll about the game's setting? Or maybe that was for some future entry...

  • EthanWoods #20 3 months ago

    Needs a break. Finished all of AC2 in a weekend (if I had work to do over the weekend, it was pushed back until Monday), and I enjoyed Brotherhood a lot, but Revelations bored me to tears in a matter of hours - and apparently it went absolutely nuts with the mythos too.

    They should have stuck to the trilogy, after that they could have done whatever the hell they wanted with the series. Instead, they've pretty much ruined it.

  • wayne997 #21 3 months ago

    they want to finish ghost recon first and farcry 2 and release trials evelotion for god sake . or and there releasing assassins creed 5 in 2014 just so you know been in development for 4 years ?ps bet a pound to a penny get delayed to march 2013

  • Triggerhappytel #22 3 months ago

    @callum9999

    It's just franchise saturation. Do you really think people would have been as excited for Skyrim had its predecessor been out the previous year? I think people would be a lot more positive about the AC series had Brotherhood been the most recent instalment. I'm sure Revelations sold well, but it also appears to have tempered a lot of consumers' enthusiasm for the series.

  • Syrette #23 3 months ago

    Have you guys actually played these games you're criticising so much?

    They're full of content. The biggest problem with Revelations is that they've forced new features in that weren't very well executed. I'd have preferred them to just not have bothered.

    They've increased the amount of devs/studios working on the titles with every iteration, which partly explains the quick development turnaround.

    They'll finish the Desmond story with AC3 and then leave it for a while I hope.

    If the game is good then the game is good. Couldn't care less f a sequel is released every other month if I still enjoy it.

  • Syrette #24 3 months ago

    @Shikasama

    So the same as most sequels then, pretty much?

  • defdaz #25 3 months ago

    Never heard so much moaning in my life. No-one is forcing you to buy them ffs.

    Personally, I love the story and I can hardly wait for the next installment. October is only 8 months away, woohoo!

  • Puzza #26 3 months ago

    I'm glad they are making the 3rd one now, I loved AC2 and brotherhood was okay but essentially the same game, i didn't even complete revelations because i was just playing the exact game again but in a different setting with bombs and a horrible tower defence game.

    Hopefully the new game brings some new to the table or I'm done with AC

  • lazyboyblue #27 3 months ago

    @wtc0771 When I commented, that part wasn't in the article and - if true - then, no I do not want 30 yrs, 3 is fine of course. I'm not hating on ubi or creed - infact i love Assassin creed and i want 3 to be sublime not a half arsed cash in. This is all.

  • Kaminari #28 3 months ago

    How can an AC game take place during the American revolution and feel exciting is beyond me. I was hoping for an epic prequel having to do with the First Civilization.

  • The-Bodybuilder #29 3 months ago

    I agree with the others.
    I was excited after ACII, but I had no desire to play brotherhood or revelations because they came too fast too soon.

    Now I feel I NEED to play those two games to play ACIII, and I don't anna do that. So does that mean I just forget ACIII then?

  • WadiumArcadium #30 3 months ago

    I've enjoyed all of them to be honest, I didn't have much motivation to get Revelations on release but after getting it for Christmas, I really enjoyed it. Looking forward to seeing where and when this will be set.

  • Eldritch #31 3 months ago

    "We will push the title a lot because it's a fantastic product that the team has been working for three years," he said. "What we have seen is just fabulous."
    Wow, he really pulled out ALL the stops on that one. Can't wait to stay online all the time during my fantastic single player experience.

  • lazyboyblue #32 3 months ago

    @The-Bodybuilder Nah. You just google the story for the 2 u missed and carry on with 3. Or they did novels for them I think.

  • drhickman1983 #33 3 months ago

    I'm intrigued certainly, and will almost certainly purchase it at some point as I like the series. Even though Revelations was a slight stumble I still ultimately enjoyed it.

    On a side note, if Eurogamer existed back in the early 90's would people have criticised Sega for releasing Sonic games in consecutive years? And then even have one of the games sold in two full price halves?
    Edited by drhickman1983 at 15/02/12 @ 19:31

  • kirinnokoshin #34 3 months ago

    @drhickman1983

    By the time a sixth identikit Sonic game in as many years had been released, then yes they probably would have.

  • funkateer #35 3 months ago

    They lost me 3 hours into the 1st AC already, but I hear they made some good ones after that.

  • yukushi #36 3 months ago

    I do not think women should go near ubisoft they like to milk things so much they would grab the woman tits looking for milk.

  • callum9999 #37 3 months ago

    @Triggerhappytel Doesn't really add anything new to what was already said before, I simply don't understand the mindset... If you want to wait 3 years, then wait 3 years. Unless you're all obsessive gamers that have to buy anything you think you'll remotely like on it's release date?

    Though I guess I wouldn't understand it anyway as I never get "excited" for new game releases.

  • PixelEdged #38 3 months ago

    I love it when they say things like "We will push the title a lot because it's a fantastic product that the team has been working for three years," and still put out day one DLC and more right after launch for no reason.

  • coomber #39 3 months ago

    @TooOldToGame I guess my love for the games has blinded me too. More AC is a good thing. The games have never been amazing, but they are solid, fun titles. Why people pre-judge a game months before its release is beyond me.

  • merseymal #40 3 months ago

    With all the crap Ubisoft has inflicted on PC gamers, they can take this and shove it where the sun doesn't shine.

  • Hieronymus #41 3 months ago

    Haters gonna hate, me personally I have been hoping for an era like the American/French Revolution since AC1 came out.

    Can't freaking wait! ..Now if I can just get to playing AC:Revelations
    Edited by Hieronymus at 15/02/12 @ 20:48

  • X3Entente #42 3 months ago

    RIP rainbow six. rainbow six 1 and rogue spear a million times better than this new generation of twitch-core adhd dumbed down garbage. will we ever see a rainbow six game with a planning phase??? of course not, we dont want to alienate drooling 13 year nooblets now do we

  • neilnimmo #43 3 months ago

    @X3Entente But Rainbow Six games are shite. They're only bought by armchair soldiers and keyboard warriors. And I fucking hate the term "dumbed-down". Makes the person saying it sound like a total knobend, who thinks he's better than other people when really, he's just a pathetic loser who clings onto the one thing he's kind of good at it the vain hope that it will give his life some value.

  • mAc6 #44 3 months ago

    Picture on front page looks like Nico from GTA IV mixed with Nicolas Cage...(weird)

  • SFD #45 3 months ago

    Enjoyed them all until AC:R which I managed about an hour on before I got bored. Great news for fans of the series, but CoD style annual release has me suffering with AC burnout.

    High quality games, so hopefully I can find the motivation to do AC:R one day.
    Edited by SFD at 15/02/12 @ 21:10

  • makeamazing #46 3 months ago

    Brotherhood was my favourite, got bored of Revelations very quickly... still trying to force myself through it. Doesn't help they've also added a hoard load of online trophies, which just bore me to death (wanted to get 100% on it, but it looks like they've screwed that up also for me :(.

    But three year development does sound great, just hope i don't get to october and get totally disappointed again.

    I was hoping the game was going to be in Christopher Columbus times as mentioned in one of the Revelations missions.

  • X3Entente #47 3 months ago

    @neilnimmo old school rainbow six game are first and foremost strategy games which just look like shooters to the uninitiated. Theres nothing like creating waypoints and drawing up complex attack plans then methodically neutralising those tangos!. way to generalise a series i love by calling it shite

  • agparrot #48 3 months ago

    @X3Entente @neilnimmo

    It's great that you have different opinions of games, but if you could just step back from the direction of insulting each other about them, that would be much appreciated.

    Thanks!

  • steoconnell #49 3 months ago

    Looking forward to this installment. I actually enjoyed Revelations.

  • KanePaws #50 3 months ago

    So Ubisoft released Assassin's Creed II in 2009, Brotherhood in 2010, Revelations in 2011... and they've been working on III for three years?

    These guys sure can multi-multitask! @_@

    Oh, and "set during the American Revolution." /facepalm

  • ronuds #51 3 months ago

    It feels like there's never not an Assassin's Creed game about to be released.

  • Doctor_What #52 3 months ago

    There's a hint in Brotherhood that it would be in Russia, so I'd stick my bet on that, but I could be wrong.

  • UkHardcore23 #53 3 months ago

    Jesus yet another Assasins Creed? Give us a break Ubi....

  • penhalion #54 3 months ago

    In development for 3 years. Who the heck are they trying to kid?

  • Zaiz #55 3 months ago

    I don't understand all the Revolution hate. The revolution fits the time period scheme of AC. Big events, famous thinkers. And the Revolution is easy to connect with the conspiracy theory alien dribble that they call a "plot".

    Although ten bucks they'll talk about signing a constitution shortly after 1776 or something crazy like that.

  • svenjl #56 3 months ago

    I got bored with the first one, loved the second, thought Brotherhood was ordinary and never finished it, and haven't played Revelations. It all seems a bit old hat despite a few technical and gameplay improvements. A completely new setting would certainly freshen things up, but honestly I don't want to scale buildings to the same extent. Can we please have more gameplay indoors and some more meaningful, player driven interactions with NPCs?

  • asphaltcowboy #57 3 months ago

    Well, I'm very glad that they've been working on this separately. I was concerned that they'd do Revelations and then get the same team working on AC3. I'd still like a bit more time between each release, but this does calm my fears somewhat!

  • darkmorgado #58 3 months ago

    @CaptainQuint

    "By the time they've finished bleeding this franchise dry it'll look like a spent and beaten whore who can't even get work in porno anymore."

    Stop comparing everything to your mother, it's really unfair on her.

  • The-Jack-Burton #59 3 months ago

    So this one won't have the absolutely horrible facial animations from the last game? Maybe? Please don't.

    Revelations was just a cash grab by Ubisoft anyways. I still have faith that part 3 will be a much better game.

  • bsonhead #60 3 months ago

    What a shock An Assassin's creed game a year after the previous one. The first was great, second one a bit less so. So on and so forth.

  • Sodding_Gamer #61 3 months ago

    If they have been working on this for 3 years then colour me excited. Yes revelations felt a little stale but given brotherhood, and revelations were made in a year is still astounding to me. If this one has been in development for 3 years then we have a lot to be excited about, knowing how big of a game they can make in just a year...

  • Stijntsje #62 3 months ago

    How about AC: Sherwood Forest? :-)

  • The-Jack-Burton #63 3 months ago

    @Stijntsje

    I actually like that idea, lots of possibilities there

  • darm #64 3 months ago

    I hate it when people say, "I don't want new AC game each year, I don't want 2-3 LEGO games each year, stop releasing them". Good thing publishers and developers don't really care about that, they care about people who are interested in their games and will buy them. I would actually probably gladly buy even more of those, like 2 AC games a year and 4-5 LEGO games as I happen to love the formula and I don't really need much changes, just new levels because I've found everything there was to find.

  • king2001 #65 3 months ago

    How about they set it in modern day Washington.

    They could call it AC : DC

    BA-DUM TSSH


    edited due to stupid smilies code!
    Edited by king2001 at 16/02/12 @ 09:30

  • tankboi #66 3 months ago

    I may actually start paying attention to Assassins Creed again now that its out of Italy. That setting just didn't hit any buttons for me, except for the 'off' one.

    Loved the setting in the first game and this sounds interesting too.

  • drhickman1983 #67 3 months ago

    What a shock An Assassin's creed game a year after the previous one. The first was great, second one a bit less so. So on and so forth
    AC1 is still the weakest game in the series. AC2 was a vast improvement over AC1, and Brotherhood was an incremental improvement over AC2. The only game that wasn't an improvement over the last was Revelations.

  • Pasco #68 3 months ago

    There are a couple of people here who are pathetic. If Assassin's Creed has a new game every year, then it is too much content in a specific time frame. If Ubi-Soft makes some content downloadable then it isn't enough content that comes on the disk. Brotherhood was apparently the same as Assassin's Creed 2, but when they try something new with the bombs and the tower defense game (which I only encountered once in 10 hours of play) then Ubi-Soft are idiots because the new things aren't exactly how three people here wanted it.

    Like other people said, if you don't want a new game every year then wait it out, buy it next christmas for 10€ in a special edition along with the downloadable content. It's a win-win situation even for you. In the time being you can play Half Life ep 3 which coming from Valve who is good as opposed to Ubi-Soft who is evil took exactly the right amount of time. Or Mass Effect 3 whose story partly follows the decisions I made 5 years ago and forgot about.

  • spidermanalf #69 3 months ago

    NO HANDGRENADES!

  • Daeltaja #70 3 months ago

    Skipped the last one since I got burnt on Brotherhood, but may very well be tempted by this, particularly if they have spent 3 years on it, compared to the measily 12 months on each of the last few.

  • KrazyFace #71 3 months ago

    @Pasco
    The problem here Pasco, is that the Tower Defence method is a cheap way of making the player play for longer and it was an un-nesissary reaction to your wanted level peaking. If they'd slid it in as an optional gameplay distraction for the player then I wouldn't have a problem either, but because I was FORCED to play a tower defence game if I caused too much trouble I was VERY put off continuing with it. In fact, I nearly quit playing. If it weren't for the fact I'm the only person on the planet that actually gives two shits about Ezio's story I really would not have put myself through it at all. Same reason I stopped playing Brutal Legend now I think about it. If you bought CoD, and had to play a rendition of Parapa The Rappa after being shot every 20 times just to get back to the action, you'd be fine with that right?

    Anyway, if it is the American Revolution then I hope they can work something better out with the guns in the game. I also found myself being forced into a particular pick-em-off formula since guards started packing heat. I liked the sword-play Ubi, it made AC stand out in a forest of shooters, don't turn it into another duck n' cover, same-as-the-last waste of time that adorn the non-virtua gaming shelves.

  • WLM13 #72 3 months ago

    So this game has been in developement for 3 plus yrs.So My 1St question,has more been put into this game then previous AC Games and secondly,How does AC III fit bewteen ACB and ACR or does it?