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Late last week, a leak from within Ubisoft revealed that there are several Assassin's Creed titles in development at the popular French studio that have yet to be announced. Among them was something called Assassin's Creed Pirates — a title that we have learned more about today.
Assassin's Creed Pirates, as it turns out, is not a fully-fledged console release, or even an offshoot for Assassin's Creed 4, but is actually a standalone title built for high-end mobile devices (i.e. smartphones and tablets). And, as the name suggests, the mobile game is built around dominating the high seas while searching for treasure.
In Assassin's Creed Pirates, players will take control of Alonzo Batilla, a man living during the golden age of piracy and who is after the mysterious treasure of La Buse. As Batilla, players will build up their pirate ship — increasing its artillery, fortifying its defenses, bulking up its crew — in order to find greater success on missions.
While the announcement trailer for the game (seen above) only briefly shows the Assassin's Creed Pirates combat in action, it looks like a pared down version of the naval combat from the proper AC games. As far as the exploration goes, though, that isn't implicitly highlighted in the trailer, but Ubisoft claims gamers will be able to "explore a huge map featuring paradise islands, volcanic shores, mangroves, and many more gorgeous landscapes."
It's also important to mention that Assassin's Creed Pirates is its own mobile title, and is not a companion app for Assassin's Creed 4 — although one of those is also on the way. From what we can gather, the mobile title only loosely ties into the Assassin and Templar lore overall, with the game seeming more like a pirate management sim than anything else. Clearly, Ubisoft is banking hard on the pirate concept.
In addition to the announcement of Assassin's Creed Pirates, Ubisoft also revealed that an HD remake of Assassin's Creed Liberation is in development for the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC. The title is slated for release in 2014, and will feature a "complete graphical overhaul and re-mastered music and sound effects."
When we reviewed the game last year we said that although Assassin's Creed Liberation boasts some interesting ideas, there were some elements that left us a little disappointed, specifically the use of costumes for different gameplay options. Apparently with Assassin's Creed Liberation HD, the gameplay experience has been revamped and new missions have been added to further flesh out Aveline's story.
That story will presumably be expanded on in Assassin's Creed 4 as well, as Aveline is a playable, exclusive character for the PS3/PS4 version of that game. To find out her origin story, however, gamers will have to wait until next year, or pick up Liberation on the Vita.
With three games coming in the next few months it appears that, in addition to turning Assassin's Creed into an annual game franchise, Ubisoft has also made it a global brand, spanning several interactive experiences. At the same time, they may also be over saturating the pool with content, but as long as the fans ask for more AC Ubisoft will continue to deliver it.
What do you think about Assassin's Creed Pirates? Does it sound like a mobile title you would check out? How about Assassin's Creed Liberation? Do you non-Vita owners want an HD version for consoles?
Assassin's Creed Pirates will be out this Fall for "high end smartphones and tablets." Assassin's Creed Liberation HD is targeting a 2014 release on the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360.