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All Articles: Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate
Ubisoft won’t release a new Assassin’s Creed game in Fall 2016
Rumors began swirling a few months ago that Ubisoft was planning to give the Assassin’s Creed franchise a rest in 2016, and now it looks like those whispers were right on the money. In a new post on the UbiBlog, the publisher confirmed that we won’t be returning to the battle between the Assassins and the Templars this Fall:
This year, we also are stepping back and re-examining the Assassin’s Creed franchise. As a result, we’ve decided that there will not be a new Assassin’s Creed game in 2016. Since the release of Assassin’s Creed: Unity, we’ve learned a lot based on your feedback. We’ve also updated our development processes and recommitted to making Assassin’s Creed a premier open-world franchise. We’re taking this year to evolve the game mechanics and to make sure we’re delivering on the promise of Assassin’s Creed offering unique and memorable gameplay experiences that make history everyone’s playground.
But don’t worry, Ubisoft still has several Assassin’s Creed spinoffs in the pipeline for 2016, including the side-scrolling Assassin’s Creed Chronicles collection that was released last week. The publisher’s Motion Pictures arm will also release the long-awaited Assassin’s Creed feature film, which stars Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard, on December 21.
Ubisoft promised to share more information about the future of the Asssassin’s Creed franchise soon.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Assassin's Creed: Syndicate
WGA nominates Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate, Pillars of Eternity, Rise of the Tomb Raider, The Witcher 3 for 2016 Writers Guild Award
The nominees for the 2016 Writers Guild Award for Outstanding Achievement in Videogame Writing were announced by the Writers Guild of America yesterday.
The WGA bestowed nominations on four titles this year, including Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate, Pillars of Eternity, Rise of the Tomb Raider, and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. It’s hard to pick a frontrunner at this point, but Syndicate is the seventh game in the Assassin’s Creed franchise to be nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Videogame Writing since the WGA began honoring writing for video games in 2008. The complete list of nominees can be found here:
Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate (Ubisoft)
Story: Marc-Alexis Cote, Hugo Giard, Corey May, Jeffrey Yohalem
Narrative Director: Corey May
Lead Writer: Jeffrey Yohalem
Assistant Narrative Director: Melissa MacCoubrey
Scriptwriters: Richard Farrese, Russell Lees, Mark Llabres Hill, James Nadiger, Jared Schincariol, Travis Stout, Ceri Young
Additional Senior Writer: Paul Monk
Additional Writing: Judith Flanders, C.J. Kershner, Gabrielle Shrager, Danny WallacePillars of Eternity (Obsidian Entertainment)
Lead Writer: Eric Fenstermaker
Writers: Carrie Patel, Olivia Veras
Additional Writing: Chris Avellone, Jeff Husges, Matt MacLean, Jorge Salgado, Josh Sawyer, George ZietsRise of the Tomb Raider (Microsoft)
Lead Narrative Designer: John Stafford
Narrative Designer: Cameron Suey
Lead Writer: Rhianna Pratchett
Additional Writer: Philip GelattThe Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (CD Projekt)
Lead Writer: Marcin Blacha
Lead English Writer: Borys Pugacz-Muraszkiewicz
Writers: Arkadiusz Borowik, Aleksandra Motyka, Bartosz Ochman, Karolina Stachyra, Jakub Szamalek
Additional Writers: Marcin Batylda, Michal Galek, Tomasz Marchewka, Robert Oglodzinski, Rafal Praszalek, Artur Sliwinski, Stanislaw Swiecicki, Pawel Zych
Story: Marcin Blacha, Jakub Szamalek
The winner of the 2016 Writers Guild Award for Outstanding Achievement in Videogame Writing will be announced on Saturday, February 13.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Assassin's Creed: Syndicate, Pillars of Eternity, Rise of the Tomb Raider, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
CoD: Black Ops III, Fallout 4, SW: Battlefront lead November 2015’s best-selling games
Not surprisingly, a trio of shooters took the top three spots in the NPD Group’s recounting of November 2015’s best-selling games.
Call of Duty: Black Ops III scored another big win for Activision (and the Black Ops sub-series) with its claim on the top spot. It was followed by Fallout 4 at #2 and Star Wars: Battlefront at #3. With shooters holding on to the top of the list, sports games looked in for the next four places… Madden NFL 16 (#4), NBA 2K16 (#5), FIFA 16 (#6), and Need For Speed (#7). What? I’m sure someone, somewhere, thinks of illegal street racing as a sport.
The final three spots in the NPD’s November 2015 list include repeat appearances from Halo 5: Guardians (#8) and Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate (#9), along with a strong Black Firday-assisted performance from Just Dance 2016 (#10).
Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, NPD’s Liam Callahan confirmed that the PS4 and Xbox One are having a monster Fall: “After 25 months, the combined sales for the PS4 and the Xbox One are 47% higher than the combined sales for 25 months of PS3 and Xbox 360 hardware sales.”
You can find the NPD’s November 2015 top ten in handy list format after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PC, PS3, PS4, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Assassin's Creed: Syndicate, Call of Duty: Black Ops III, Fallout 4, FIFA 16, Halo 5: Guardians, Just Dance 2016, Madden NFL 16, NBA 2K16, Need For Speed, NPD, Star Wars: Battlefront
New Releases: Star Wars Battlefront, Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon, Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash, More
“Do or do not. There is no try.”
After an absence from gaming for more than a decade, it’s time for the return of the Star Wars: Battlefront franchise on the PC, PS4, and Xbox One. Did DICE recapture the old magic that made the series a fan favorite? We won’t know for sure until Tuesday, but I do know that the Vader-emblazoned PS4 500GB + Star Wars: Battlefront Limited Edition Bundle is a beautiful piece of hardware. A regular PS4 500GB + Star Wars: Battlefront Bundle will also be released this week.
Also available this week is a pair of Nintendo exclusives on Friday. Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon for the 3DS is the latest dungeon-crawling roguelike starring those lovable Pokemon. Meanwhile, Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash serves up another Mario-filled tennis tournament on the Wii U in place of the delayed Star Fox Zero.
Finally this week, we’ve got plenty of familiar games in new places…
- Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate makes its PC debut as the Assassins and Templars take their eternal struggle to Victorian England.
- The Borderlands Triple Pack (PS3, Xbox 360) puts all three games (and all their downloadable content) into a single package for the first time.
- The Crew: Wild Run Edition (PS4, Xbox One) bundles together Ubisoft’s online racer with its Wild Run expansion.
- Deadpool breaks the fourth wall again in this PS4/Xbox One remake of his PS3/Xbox 360 game.
- Telltale compiles all six episodes of their Game of Thrones adaptation onto a single disc for the PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.
A complete list of this week’s new release can be found after the break. (more…)
Halo 5: Guardians was the best-selling game of October 2015 according to the NPD Group
The Master Chief’s sales performance was masterful last month as players flocked to stores to purchase Halo 5: Guardians, making it the best-selling game in October 2015.
The fifth entry in Microsoft’s long-running shooter series wasn’t the only new release to rule the charts last month. Players also pushed their gaming dollars towards the newly available Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate (#3), WWE 2K16 (#5), Yoshi’s Woolly World (#8), and Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection (#9). And the battle of the (plastic instrument) bands ended with Harmonix’s Rock Band 4 taking the #10 spot and Guitar Hero Live failing to chart. This month is also notable for another no-show as Minecraft was knocked out of the top ten for the first time in a long time. But it’ll surely climb the ranks again as the holiday season approaches.
Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, The NPD Group’s Liam Callahan confirmed that the game industry saw a year-over-year sales increase thanks to Halo 5 and the debut of Microsoft’s Xbox One Elite Controller: “Overall sales across physical software, hardware, and accessories experienced a modest 2% growth in October 2015 compared to October 2014. This was driven entirely by accessory sales, which grew by 18%, or just under $30 million.”
Halo 5 also helped sales of Microsoft’s Xbox One triumph over Sony’s PS4 on the monthly sales charts for the first time all year. Even more impressive, this happened after Sony officially dropped the price on the PS4.
The NPD Group’s complete top ten for October 2015 can be found after the break. (more…)
Xbox Store Today: Assassin’s Creed Syndicate, Layers of Fear (Preview), Adventure Time: Finn and Jake Investigations
We’re going back in time with today’s Xbox Games Store update as Ubisoft added Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate (Xbox One) to the online storefront earlier today. Syndicate brings the long-running Assassin’s Creed series to Victorian England, and drops players into the heart of the Industrial Revolution. Living on the streets of London, players will follow Jacob and Evie Frye as they build their underworld organization and take on the evil Templars.
Xbox One owners can also take a trip to the future today as Adventure Time: Finn and Jake Investigations is also available for the Xbox One. Based on the colorful cartoon currently airing on the Cartoon Network, Adventure Time: Finn and Jake Investigations employs the titular duo as private detectives in the post-apocalyptic Land of Ooo. According to the publisher, “strange stuff is happening,” but strange stuff should be pretty familiar to regular viewers of Adventure Time.
Finally this week, Xbox One owners will be able to explore the haunted house at the center of Layers of Fear. Currently available through the Game Preview program, Layers of Fear stars a “madness-engulfed insane painter” as he searches for items of significance to him.
More information on all of these games can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, Xbox One
Tagged Adventure Time: Finn and Jake Investigations, Assassin's Creed: Syndicate
Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate, Tales From the Borderlands: Episode 5, Life Is Strange: Episode 5, more added to PS Store
There’s something for everyone in this week’s PlayStation Store update.
The biggest new release is definitely Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate for the PS4. Ubisoft’s historial hack and slash series moves to Victorian London in the latest installment and brings with it all the hooliganism you’d expect from such a setting. I wonder if you can make your Assassin shout “Pip Pip!” as they marauder their way through a gang of Templars.
Ubisoft is a busy bee this week, as the publisher will also release Just Dance 2016 for the PS4 and PS3. The latest addition to the publisher’s dance machine includes 42 songs from Britney Spears, Katy Perry, Demi Lovato, Selena Gomez, and many others.
On the complete opposite spectrum from teen pop hits is Bandai Namco’s Tales of Zestiria, the latest game in the popular Tales series of action RPGs. Zestiria is the first game in the series to be released for the PS4, but it’ll also be available for the PS3.
Elsewhere, a pair of licensed games were added to the PlayStation Store this week, both of which revolve around puzzles. Marvel Puzzle Quest is a match-3 puzzler for the PS4 and PS3, while Adventure Time: Finn and Jake Investigations is an adventure game with a lot of puzzle-solving elements.
Finally this week, two episodic adventures will come to an as Dontnod’s Life Is Strange: Polarized and Telltale’s Tales From the Borderlands: The Vault of the Traveler have both been released for the PS4 and PS3.
More information on all of these games are available after the break. And a complete rundown of this week’s new game add-ons and discounts can be found at the PlayStation Blog. (more…)
New Releases: Guitar Hero Live, Assassin’s Creed Syndicate, Zelda: Tri Force Heroes, More
Are you ready to rock? I said… are you… Ready. To. Rock? Activision is certainly ready to rock as they’ve brought back the Guitar Hero franchise this week with the release of Guitar Hero Live . Scheduled for launch on the PS3, PS4, Wii U, Xbox 360, and Xbox One in a Standard Edition and Two Guitar Bundle, Guitar Hero Live will include more than 100 songs on the disc and an ever-changing lineup of artists available through its GHTV mode.
But Guitar Hero Live isn’t the only arena act looking to put on an encore this week. New entries in four of gaming’s biggest franchises will soon be available in stores:
- Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate (PS4 and Xbox One) brings the Templars-versus-Assassins saga to Victorian England. And you better believe that Jack the Ripper is involved (though not until the downloadable expansion).
- The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes is yet another multiplayer Zelda game, this time for the 3DS.
- Tales of Zestiria is the latest Tales game from Bandai Namco and the first to appear simultaneously on the PC, PS3, and PS4.
- Just Dance 2016 (PS3, PS4, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One) and Just Dance: Disney Party 2 (Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One) will have you beboppin’ and scattin’ all over your living room one more time.
Finally this week, Microsoft is releasing Halo 5: Guardians a week early if you’re willing to pay extra for it (sort of). The Limited Collector’s Edition includes a digital download of the game, but it won’t unlock until next Tuesday, October 27. You can also spring for the 1 TB Xbox One + Halo 5: Guardians Limited Edition Bundle, which features a Halo-themed Xbox One system, along with a digital download of Halo 5 that won’t unlock until next Tuesday.
A complete list of this week’s new releases can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Assassin's Creed: Syndicate, Guitar Hero Live, Halo 5: Guardians, Just Dance 2016, Tales of Zestiria, The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes