Assassin's Creed III setting Ubisoft preorder records

The hype for Assassin's Creed III is reaching unprecedented levels for Ubisoft. The publisher today said that in the three weeks since the game's preorder campaign kicked off, it has already exceeded the total US preorder numbers of Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood and has topped 10 times the preorders Assassin's Creed: Revelations attracted in a comparable time frame. (Preordering customers will receive special steelbook packaging for the game adorned with art by Alex Ross.)

By the time the Electronic Entertainment Expo rolls around in June, Ubisoft expects Assassin's Creed III to have dethroned Revelations as the most preordered game in company history (US only). That would leave the game plenty of time to cushion its status, as Assassin's Creed III isn't set to launch until October 30 in North America.

Preorders aren't the only Ubisoft records Assassin's Creed III will set. In a statement accompanying the news, Ubisoft's senior vice president of sales and marketing, Tony Key, said the game would enjoy the biggest marketing commitment in company history. He also called Assassin's Creed III the largest launch in the publisher's history and noted it will have been in development for three years.

Set during the American Revolution, Assassin's Creed III features a new protagonist with a mixed Native American-English heritage. Named Ratohnhake:ton but going by Connor, the hero of Assassin's Creed III will inject himself into the ongoing struggle between the Templars and the Assassins. The game is being built by Ubisoft Montreal and six collaborating studios on a new engine called Ubisoft-AnvilNext.