Ubisoft Claims 'Record Number Of Preorders' For Assassin's Creed Brotherhood

Paris, France-based game publisher and developer Ubisoft said today that next month's Assassin's Creed Brotherhood has garnered a "record number of preorders" for the company. The publisher said in a statement that the game, due November 16 in North America and November 18 in EMEA territories, "has surpassed all other Ubisoft video game releases in worldwide preorders." Ubisoft didn't reveal specific preorder figures, but the reported record follows a trend set by 2009's Assassin's Creed 2, which UbiSoft said saw preorders rise 10 to 20 percent over the 2007 original. Preorders aren't always an accurate forecast of actual sales performance, but Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed series is a proven strong performer at retail. The relatively young franchise has sold over 19 million units worldwide across just two titles, Ubisoft said. Electronic Arts recently announced franchise record levels of pre-orders for its Medal of Honor reboot, which went on to sell 1.5 million copies in its first five days on sale worldwide. Ubisoft is giving the Ubisoft Montreal-developed Assassin's Creed Brotherhood a marketing campaign that is "one of the biggest" in the publisher's history and one which will extend "far beyond the game's launch date," the company said. Ubisoft is planning a worldwide TV and online advertising effort to back the game, and retail partners are holding midnight launches. In the game, which is coming to Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, players take the role of master assassin Ezio in Renaissance Rome. Assassin's Creed Brotherhood will have a single-player campaign that lasts around 15 hours, plus a multiplayer mode -- a feature new to the series, Ubisoft said. The game is also coming to Windows PC in 2011.