One could be forgiven for worrying about annualised releases affecting the quality of  franchise. And then, surely, there's saturation to think about, too.

But Ubisoft are perfectly happy with their annualised setup for Assassin's Creed, mainly because more players are getting involved than ever before, apparently.

Michael Fassbender To Star

Ubisoft has announced that work has begun on the Assassin's Creed movie screenplay, which will feature the acting talents of Michael Fassbender (300, Prometheus). Shooting begins next summer.

• What: Assassin's Creed, Assassin's Creed II Deluxe & Brotherhood Deluxe Editions
• Where: GamersGate
• Current Price: £12.49
• Assassin's Creed Brotherhood PC Price Comparison
• Assassin's Creed Brotherhood Review

GamersGate's so-called Assassin's Creed Complete Bundle doesn't actually include Revelations, but it's still a great way of getting your hands on the first three games in the series. £12.49 will net you the original Assassin's Creed alongside deluxe editions for its two sequels, including extra singleplayer and multiplayer content, maps, skins and bonus materials.

Credit to dmorison at HotUKDeals, who found this earlier this morning.

• What: Ubisoft Classics Collection
• Where: GAME | Gamestation
• Current Price: £4.99
• Ubisoft Classics Collection Price Comparison

Here's a nifty deal for five excellent Ubisoft games: Far Cry, Rayman 3, Prince Of Persia: Sands Of Time, Beyond Good & Evil and Assassins Creed, which is a 'heap and helping' of game as my gran used to say. Great value - BG&E is probably worth the price of admission. This will save you about £7.

The exceptionally versatile Michael Fassbender - who's starred in films such as Inglourious Basterds, Hunger, X-Men: First Class, Prometheus, and Shame - will apparently be both starring in, and co-producing, a film based on Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed series.

• What: Assassin's Creed
• Where: Impulse
• Current Price: £2.49
• Assassin's Creed Price Comparison

Ubisoft are riding high at the moment, and with good reason: they always give an innovative franchise a chance. Can you imagine anyone else taking a punt on a medieval melee-centric free-running sandbox game set in the fevered genetic dreams of a bartender? EA and Activision would have laughed it out of the boardroom. This unassuming, fun yet slightly flawed title eventually blossomed into one of (if not the) best new IPs of the generation, and Impulse/Gamestop are charging a paltry £2.49 for the PC version.

Former Assassin's Creed lead and Ubisoft Toronto head, Jade Raymond has suggested that it's time video games grew up, stressing that the industry doesn't "need to make the equivalent to a Michael Bay flick in order to sell five million copies".

• What: Ubisoft Classics Collection
• Where: ShopTo
• Current Price: £7.95
• Ubisoft Classics Collection Price Comparison

Here's a nifty deal for five classic Ubisoft games. Zavvi will post you Far Cry, Rayman 3, Prince Of Persia: Sands Of Time, Beyond Good & Evil and Assassins Creed for the bargain price of £7.95, which is pretty good going despite not quite being the cheapest we've ever seen it. Great value nonetheless, and some excellent titles.

'We're Challenging EA and Activision'

We have high hopes for the next Assassin's Creed title (heavily tipped for a holiday season 2012 reveal), and Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot reckons that the next iteration of the franchise will be "the biggest to date." Shrugging off suggesions that the annualised release schedule may be hurting the brand, Ubisoft are confident that they'll be in a position to challenge the likes of Activision and EA to become the world's "number one" publisher.

Leaves For Marketing Firm

Assassin's Creed: Revelations wasn't quite as successful as Ubisoft had hoped, I imagine, effectively ending their idea of an annualized AC model - I hope. It had some interesting ideas, and switching to Constantinople was yet again an inspired location change, but overall the formula had become generic and tired, and the series is in dire need of a revolution instead of revelations. Geddit? Ahem, well, it appears as if creative director Alexandre Amancio has had enough with overdressing assassins, too, as he's left Ubisoft to join a marketing firm.

"Video games and advertising have many common elements," Amancio told Game Informer, about to take on his new role of chief creative officer at Cossette, a Canadian marketing company. "In addition, like advertising, the video game industry must now take into account and supply a very important social dimension in its development and strategies. The game is no longer just a game, it's a community, relations between players, and the brand." Ubisoft have yet to comment on the matter, although reports of sniffling and the occasional emotional hiccup have been reported from their HQ. [Game Informer]

• What: Ubisoft Classics Collection
• Where: ShopTo
• Current Price: £6.99
• Ubisoft Classics Collection Price Comparison

Here's another nifty ShopTo deal for five classic Ubisoft games. £6.99 will get you Far Cry, Rayman 3, Prince Of Persia: Sands Of Time, Beyond Good & Evil and Assassins Creed, which is pretty good going. Great value, and some excellent titles.

Medieval China? Victorian England? Ancient Egypt?

Last week, rumors emerged that Ubisoft had dropped a none too subtle hint as to where - or to be more precise, when - the next Assassin's Creed adventure might take place. We've put our death-dealing skills to good use in The Holy Land, Renaissance-era Italy and now Constantinople thanks to Ezio - and Altair's - latest adventure. But what's next? Well, a recent survey submitted by Ubisoft might contain the answer.

WARNING! Spoilers For AC: Revelations Inside!

We've long wondered where Ubisoft might take the next full-blown Assassin's Creed adventure. While we've enjoyed seeing out Ezio's last days in last year's Brotherhood and this month's Revelations, we here at Dealspwn feel we've spent enough time in one era and it would be in the franchise's benefit to truly move the narrative forward. But have Ubisoft dropped a none too subtle hint in their latest offering?

Ubisoft's Murder-Sim To Be A Movie?

The internet was abuzz with rumours this weekend that Sony had entered final negotiations to pick up the rights to an Assassin's Creed film from Ubisoft. We've had a slew of videogame films in the past, from flops like Mortal Kombat and Prince of Persia, to the moderately successful Tomb Raiders and the half a billion dollar grossing Resident Evil franchise. And now Sony appears to be back in the ring and swinging with Ubisoft's medieval murder-sim, with a slew of patents filed pertaining to just such a film.

However, the question is: who will it star? The bland as water crackers Crusades-era Altair? Or the smooth-talking, charismatic Ezio Auditore Di Firenze, who for my money is the best new protagonist this generation - sorry Nathan Drake, fans. Ubisoft have been making inroads towards an AC movie for a while now, producing a number of live-action short films off their own back to much success. It appears to have done the trick, catching Sony's eye who will be looking for a new franchise to milk. [Fusible]

It's happening. It's really happening.

Namco Bandai has confirmed that Ezio Auditore will indeed be the special bonus character in the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of Soul Calibur V. This monumental collaboration will let players control Ezio and his wide range of assassination tools including a Roman Longsword, Stiletto, Crossbow, Hidden gun and his trademark Hidden blade when Soul Calibur V releases on February 3rd, 2012.

Project Soul has provided us with what we like to call crazy amounts of assets to celebrate the new partnership - and we've got it all below. Feast your eyes on trailers, renders and screens!

Assassin's Creed: Revelations creative lead Alexandre Amacio has strongly hinted that Desmond's narrative arc will come to an end next year. With Revelations set to finish off Ezio's trilogy, the Ubisoft Montreal man has suggested that there are multiple character arcs, and that Desmond's will be done next year.

At their GamesCom 2011 press conference earlier today, Sony promised strong third-party support to bolster the Playstation Vita's upcoming roster. The likes of Ubisoft and EA were touted, with all new Assassin's Creed and FIFA titles announced for Sony's upcoming portable machine.

Jumping around rooftops, flicking out your hidden blades, before throwing yourself on top of your latest target, never gets old in the Assassin's Creed games, particularly when you're trying to do it as covertly as possible. They have got a nasty habit of getting a tad repetitive after a while though, so it's a good job that Assassin's Creed: Revelations is on its way to bring something fresh to the series. However, it seems like another Assassin's Creed title is on the cards for the Wii U.

• What: Assassin's Creed Directors Cut
• Where: Amazon | Game | Gamestation
• Current Price: £2.99
• Assassin's Creed Directors Cut PC Price Comparison

You should all know what to expect from this one! It's the time of the Third Crusade and you play Altair, a skilled assassin who stands against the Templars. Assassin's Creed's pretty good fun, especially when you're sneaking around on rooftops, or performing a whole range of crazy free running stunts, but sadly it does get a little bit repetitive after a while. The merchants listed above are parting with PC copies of the game for £2.99, which is a great price and should save you £2 on the next best offers out there. Thanks to Darkle @ HUKD.

So if you haven't seen Ubisoft's E3 trailer for the third iteration in Ezio's Templar-skewering saga, you really do owe it to yourself to check it out.  There's explosions, flamethrowers and a great chain (the literal variety, not the Ryan variety), and it's looking awesome.

Ubisoft UK have today announced that Assassin's Creed Revelations will hit British shelves on the 15th November 2011, aiming to assassinate our wallets just in time for Christmas.  Thanks, Ubisoft...

[Eurogamer]