Assassin's Creed Joan of Arc Novel Coming From Ubisoft's New Book-Publishing Division

Ubisoft has formed its own internal division dedicated to publishing books. Called Ubisoft Publishing, the unit's first release will be a series of new Assassin's Creed books, the first of which comes out in November.

The new series is called Assassin's Creed: Heresy, and it will debut on November 15. The book, like the games, tells a story that spans the modern day and the past. Heresy is a 14th century story that involves Joan of Arc, though there are no other plot details available at this point.

The book is written by Christie Golden, who wrote previous Assassin's Creed books such as Blackbeard: The Lost Journal and Assassin’s Creed Unity: Abstergo Employee Handbook. She has also written books in the Star Wars, Star Trek, and World of Warcraft franchises.

Debuting alongside Heresy on November 15 will be Assassin’s Creed: The Essential Guide, which is described as a "lavishly illustrated handbook on the characters, historical settings, and scenarios from throughout Assassin's Creed's timeline." Additionally, Assassin's Creed: The Ezio Collection, which includes enhanced versions of Assassin's Creed II, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, and Assassin's Creed: Revelations, comes out that day for PS4, Xbox One, and PC.

As mentioned, Ubisoft has released books in the past with partners like Penguin Random House and Scholastic, but Heresy is the company's first project from its internal publishing label. Ubisoft president Laurent Detoc said in a statement that Ubisoft will continue to partner with book publishers to complement its own Ubisoft Publishing efforts.

The difference for Ubisoft Publishing efforts, Detoc said, is that Ubisoft will have total creative control, "from initial concept to print." Ubisoft will get to choose the writers it works with and also make editing and art design choices without interference.

"We know our brands and their individual stories very intimately, so we're leveraging our in-house expertise to continue to propel our brands and explore and dive into narratives that will be compelling to fans and new readers alike," Detoc explained.

Ubisoft also has an internal division dedicated to movies and TV projects called Ubisoft Motion Pictures. One of the studio's most high-profile upcoming releases is Assassin's Creed, which stars Michael Fassbender and comes out in December.

In other Ubisoft news, GameSpot recently interviewed CEO Yves Guillemot about a number of topics, including Vivendi's hostile takeover bid, reinventing the Assassin's Creed franchise, and more.