The Assasin's Creed franchise wasn't exactly floundering prior to the release of "Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood" this year, but a reported 20 million units sold has put some new wind into Ubisoft's sails. They've already announced that Ubisoft Montreal will tackle the next Assassin's Creed sequel for 2011, and now it looks like they may be thinking even farther into the future — maybe even into 2020.
"Assassin's Creed is our biggest franchise now, and we will invest to keep it big for the next few years – and maybe the next ten years," EMEA sales and marketing chief Geoffroy Sardin told MCV.
In the meantime, Sardin confirmed that another game is on the way and that more DLC will be out soon, which we knew from past interviews.
"We will have good surprises for players in the weeks and months to come," he explained.
With longterm plans and a potential annual frequency of releases in store for AC, the big question still on my mind is whether or not free DLC like "Animus Project Update 1.0" is going to become standard. Ubi might have a vested interest in keeping new, free updates for games coming to keep its audience playing year to year, and giving them more ways to play without price barriers could be a fine strategy for accomplishing that task. More freebees or not, though, 2011 should prove to be an eventful one if you're invested in the franchise.
Where would you like to see Ubisoft take Assassin's Creed if it lasts another ten years? Do you think standardizing free DLC would be a good call on their part? Share your responses with us in the comment section below.