Ubisoft Confirms New Assassin's Creed Coming Next Year

Ubisoft will continue its recent pattern of annual releases in the best-selling Assassin's Creed franchise with another title next year, the company confirmed today. Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot made the announcement near the end of a conference call accompanying the company's recent earnings report, though he provided no additional details on the title. Though Guillemot said pre-orders for the soon-to-launched Assassin's Creed: Revelations are "significantly higher than last year," the company's financial guidance is assuming the new title will see a "double digit decline" in sales compared to last year's Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood. "We want to be careful and prudent, but we have high expectations for the product," Guillemot said, citing strong preview coverage and consumer interest. The company also said sales of Brotherhood have been "in line" with those of 2009's Assassin's Creed II, which ended up selling nearly 9 million copies worldwide through March 2010. Brotherhood has sold 3.14 million new retail copies in the U.S. through September, according to NPD data. The Assassin's Creed franchise has now sold 31 million copies since its debut in November 2007, according to Ubisoft.