The next Assassin’s Creed may skip this year and launch in 2017, altering the franchise’s annual release schedule. According to Kotaku, whose sources say the next game takes place in Egypt and is codenamed “Empire,” Ubisoft decided on the delay after the launch of Assassin’s Creed Unity in 2014.
Kotaku’s same sources allege that Watch Dogs 2, which is supposedly set in San Francisco and should launch later this year, will take the fall release slot usually occupied by Assassin’s Creed. There have also been rumors floating around online, particularly by one individual on 4chan. The anonymous forum user’s posts have been compiled on NeoGaf here.
While 2015’s Assassin’s Creed Syndicate was critically successful, 2014’s much-maligned Assassin’s Creed Unity left serious questions of franchise fatigue in its wake. If these rumors prove to be true, gamers may be getting a break from mainline Assassin’s Creed titles. For the time being, fans of the franchise can still look forward to two smaller scale, side scrolling entries.
The original Watch Dogs received a lukewarm critical response, but was commercially successful. Hopefully the extra development time for Watch Dogs 2, if it indeed does release this year, will give it the extra polish many said the original needed.
Keep an eye on Gameranx for any more news about the next Assassin’s Creed or Watch Dogs.
