This year is already looking like a packed one for gaming, but we now know that one major franchise will not be making it to market this holiday season.
Video-game publisher Ubisoft announced on Thursday that it would not be releasing an Assassin’s Creed game in 2016.
The news surprised many gamers, because Ubisoft has released an Assassin’s Creed game every year since 2009. But people may be feeling franchise fatigue with the release of the last two Assassin’s Creed games. Unity was released in 2014 and was torn apart by the Internet for its plethora of glitches. After a multitude of patches, the game was eventually put in working order, but it had left a bad taste in the mouths of many.
Syndicate, released in 2015, fared a lot better critically, but according to sales figures, it underperformed for an Assassin’s Creed game, especially when compared to Unity.
Many gamers have longstanding issues with Assassin’s Creed that Ubisoft is trying to mend by taking time off—most notably the game mechanics.
Not much has changed with the gameplay since the first Assassin’s Creed was released in 2007. Combat is still stiff and gameplay could be more varied. Entries like Revelations tried to mix things up with tower-defense style segments, but overall, things have been pretty constant—stagnant, some say.
This year won’t be empty of Assassin’s Creed, though. From the Chronicles side-scrolling spinoffs to the movie starring Michael Fassbender releasing this December, 2016 offers enough to tide diehard fans over until the 2017 holiday season.
Meanwhile, gamers are hoping that the time off is worth it.
H/T Ubisoft | Photo via MarvelousRoland/Flickr (CC BY 2.0)