Along with new entries in the Raving Rabbids, Ghost Recon, and Driver series, Ubisoft has revealed that its fiscal year 2010-11 lineup will include a new entry in the Assassin's Creed series - with online multiplayer.
Ubisoft pulled out the big guns today to help make up for the downward financial outlook for fiscal year 2009-10, dropping franchise names left and right in order to paint a rosier picture for the coming year. One of those names is Assassin's Creed, with the next installment featuring online multiplayer - a first for the series.
According to Ubisoft's Michael Beadle, the new standalone game will also see the return of Assassin Creed II's Ezio.
From the press release:
"The 2010-11 fiscal year will see a greater number of franchise releases than fiscal year 2009-10, including Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Conviction, a new game in the Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon series, Prince of Persia The Forgotten Sands, Driver, Raving Rabbids 4 and a new episode of Assassin's Creed, which will be the first in the series to have an online multiplayer mode."
So how do you take a stealth-action game like Assassin's Creed II and make it multiplayer? Put your speculation hats on, ladies and gentlemen, and fill the comment section with your wisdom. I'll start things off: Tag, you're dead.
[UPDATE: A Ubisoft rep confirmed to Kotaku that this new Assassin's Creed will be a standalone game that includes a mutiplayer component. It is not Assassin's Creed II DLC. The rep also told us that Ezio will feature ACII hero Ezio de Auditore]