Ubi lets Assassin's dev know who's boss

By Wesley Yin-Poole Published 13 July, 2010

Will there be an Assassin's Creed in 2011?

Ubisoft has poured cold water on calls from its own developer for the Assassin's Creed franchise to take a break following the release of Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood this November.

Last week Ubisoft Montreal's Jean-Francois Boivin, associate producer on the Assassin's Creed franchise, told Eurogamer: "Honestly, I think for the benefit of everybody – and business can come back and override everything I say because at the end of the day it's about selling games – I believe that this license needs a breather. You can't plough a field every year. Once every three years – or once every something – you have to let it breathe. You have to let the minerals back in."

It appears Boivin's prediction was correct. Yesterday Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot was asked about Eurogamer's story in its first quarter earnings call. He said the comments came from the production team (we knew that). Then, he said: "The decision is not theirs." He concluded: "It would not be right to comment right now."

While Guillemot stopped short of confirming that Assassin's Creed will return next year, his comments suggest there is much to discuss internally at Ubisoft about the future of the Assassin's Creed franchise. The question on everybody's lips is: will there be an Assassin's Creed game in 2011?

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 (15) Latest comment 2 years ago

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

  • menage #1 2 years ago

    @Robin

    Don't play it then.

    Jeez, for the 100th fucking time, MP can be good if it's derived form an SP game. Look at UC2. It really doesn't fucking matter for your precious SP game if it's done well. And that'\s coming form a guy who plays Sp games 95 % of the time.

    And those first 2 sentences didn't make much sense either.

    Ontopic:

    Yeah, force your team to make something they clearly need some time away from, should be good. Hell, let them create another IP which you can sell out a million times in the meantime or something if you're dying for money, but speaking out of experience. It doesn't get better when you pressure people in making it.



    Edited by menage at 13/07/10 @ 08:38

  • thewool #2 2 years ago

    Is this how creativity in gaming is finally killed off?

  • ryandsimmons #3 2 years ago

    @Menage

    You do realise that Robin is a spammer and isn't actually trying to make a point? He's just trying to provide a space for his link.

  • menage #4 2 years ago

    Damn, missed that headphone stuff completely:p

    Since when do spammers actually type stuff that's relevant:p

  • The-Bodybuilder #5 2 years ago

    Guillemot: What is your name?
    Boivin: My name is kunta......kinte
    /whip
    /screams
    Guillemot: Your name is Toby. I want to hear you say it. It's a nice name, it's toby, I want to hear you say it.

    Know your role when the slave master comes. Sorry Ubi Dev.

    Edit: Early morning bad grammar.
    Edited by The-Bodybuilder at 13/07/10 @ 09:30

  • ryandsimmons #6 2 years ago

    They are getting more subtle these days.

  • metalangel #7 2 years ago

    Yeah, milk the tits off it! Who cares if the games get stale or the market is oversaturated!

  • Lee_Morris #8 2 years ago

    I'd be worried if Ubi did push for a AC3 in 18 months, when it's plainly obvious the team are expecting and planning for it to come out in 30 months. Yikes.
    Edited by Lee_Morris at 13/07/10 @ 10:11

  • Centrifugal #9 2 years ago

    This is why I'm glad Bungie isn't at all owned by Activision. Too many publishers force their developers to rush their games, which worsens their quality.

  • JahB #10 2 years ago

    "The decision is not theirs."

    obviously not, i mean what would a game developer know about how long it takes to make a good game? silly dev, thank god the publisher set him straight....

  • Skooch #11 2 years ago

    Ubi want AC to become more than a AAA Blockbuster title, something more like GTA and Halo 'super' franchises. In order to do that they HAVE to allow their devs to rest, regroup and be creative. A game every year does quickly tire, do I really want to play AC every year? No. In the same way I don't want to play Halo or GTA every year either. A release should be something to savour, otherwise consumers get used to it, which immediately makes it less special, and ultimately less successful.

  • Walkerj #12 2 years ago

    Hopefully not, I love the series and im not looking forward to brotherhood t all. same reason Im not buying fallout new vegas. It looks exactly the same, no time o improve it at all. If the dlc for the last one is any indication, this team does not do good work when rushed

  • darth_paul #13 2 years ago

    if the UBISOFT thinks it´ll be milking the franchise successfully every year, think again.

  • trubadman #14 2 years ago

    TBH, I was surprised that brotherhood was being released this year. When details of the game were first released they were quite sketchy. Some articles said it was a multiplayer online game, that it would be avaiable on XBL/PSN etc. Personally, I think it would be a mistake to turn this franchise into a yearly release thing like COD. Like the french guy said, it's nice to take a breather. What would GTA be like if it was released yearly.

    Personally, i think ACII was a brilliant game and a massive improvement over ACI, and if this does become a yearly release franchise I can't see the story retaining its quality or length.
    Edited by trubadman at 13/07/10 @ 16:53

  • sarcasmoidosis #15 2 years ago

    What does a developer know about games anyway, right, Yves?

    I'm always amazed how a company with some of the best IP's in the business can screw up so often. It's a shame really. I don't want AC2 to become a CoD4 for me, i.e. the last one of the franchise I bought.