Assassin's Creed II ships 8 million, expansion Rome-bound

This morning, Ubisoft unveiled Ghost Recon Future Warrior and announced it is scaling back development of all-new IPs to focus on more installments in existing properties. Its motivation to do the latter was laid bare, when it also announced that Assassin's Creed II has shipped 8 million units worldwide.

The M-for-Mature game was released November 17 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in North America and shipped in Europe and elsewhere two days later. The PC version will arrive this March along with Ubisoft's controversial new online-based DRM system.

The announcement came less than a month after the company announced Assassin's Creed II had achieved worldwide sales of 6 million units. Having sold 1.6 million units globally during its first week, the game received sterling reviews. It follows a new protagonist, Ezio, who teams up with the likes of Leonardo da Vinci during the Medici-run Renaissance era in Italy.

In January, Ubisoft said it expected Assassin's Creed II to sell some 9 million units by the end of its current fiscal year in March. To help sustain interest in the game, the company is readying a new expansion, which will introduce multiplayer into the series for the first time. The expansion will arrive during Ubisoft's current fiscal year, which beings April 1, 2010, and its single-player component picks up where Assassin's Creed II left off.

Speaking today in a conference call with reporters, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot said the expansion "marks the return of the legendary Ezio. But this time, he will strike directly at the heart of the Templar Order in Rome. In addition to this full new adventure, players will be able to challenge their friends in a very innovative assassination multiplayer."