Beyond the delays, the buggy launches, and the inability to have certain character models, the largest and most notorious complaint of the Assassin's Creed franchise is that it's been annualized. So it is a relief to hear that, according to reports (particularly 4chan as compiled by NeoGAF), that Ubisoft might be letting the series breathe a little from franchise fatigue by passing on an installment this year.
Kotaku believes, through sources at Ubisoft, that the next main Assassin's Creed will be entitled Empire (likely a codename) and will be set in Egypt (a fine new centerpoint for the franchise, if I may add). The game was apparently pushed from Fall 2016 to some undisclosed time in 2017 due to disappointing sales figures of Assassin's Creed Unity.
The extremely industrious pipeline Ubisoft has put the series through since 2009 has caused a series of rushed releases, to the point that even Ubisoft admitted that the performance of Assassin's Creed Syndicate was due in part to "by what happened with Assassin's Creed Unity."
The Assassin's Creed franchise will still have a presence this year, starting with two Assassin's Creed Chronicles side-scrollers, one set in 19th century India on January 12 and another in early 20th century Russia on February 9. And there's the theatrical release starring Michael Fassbender to release at the end of this year on December 21.
