For those who are waiting on new Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry games, recent news may come as a disappointment– or a sign of progress.
Ubisoft’s VP of Editorial, Tommy Francois, spoke frankly with IGN about the direction Ubisoft would like to take the franchises in, and what that entails: “We believe Alpha for these games needs to be one year before release. We’re trying to achieve that. That’s super ******* blunt, I don’t even know if I’m allowed to say this. This is the goal we’re going for: Alpha one year before, more quality, more polish. So if this means biting the [bullet] and not having an Assassin’s game, or a Far Cry [in 2017], **** it.”
When pressed to elaborate on what he meant by Alpha, Francois went on, “Alpha is just saying getting stuff done, but leaving time for polish and innovation. I mean it from that perspective,” he explained, making clear he didn’t mean a public Alpha. “We still need to have an Alpha, and we need it available as early as we possibly can … You just can’t take shortcuts.”
Francois didn’t feel that the decision was an economic one– Assassin’s Creed game sales have recently dropped game-to-game, though Far Cry’s have only gone up– but rather a creative one. Speaking to Ubisoft’s open-world games, Francois said, “I do think we need to break that formula. This year we’ve given Far Cry and Assassin’s some time to decant, innovate, and polish.”
Francois’ explanation back up what CEO Yves Guillemot has said previously. Ubisoft is no stranger to delays; South Park: The Fractured But Whole has been pushed back to 2017, and recent hints at Beyond Good and Evil 2 remind us that the sequel has been in the works since 2008.