Watch Dogs 2 Can Make Up for Lack of Assassin's Creed in 2016, Says Ubisoft

Ubisoft believes Watch Dogs 2 can fill the void in its release calendar created by the lack of a new Assassin's Creed in 2016.

"Assassin's Creed has been a fantastic seller for Ubisoft and really important to the market every year," said sales director Darren Bowen, speaking to MCV. "But make no mistake, Watch Dogs 2 will certainly fill the gap this year."

Continuing, Bowen highlighted the variety of games Ubisoft has on the way and also noted that, while an entirely new Assassin's Creed won't be available, the franchise will have market presence thanks to The Ezio Collection.

"We are very fortunate to have such a strong and varied lineup so we don’t have to rely just one franchise. Following Watch Dogs 2, we also have Steep launching at the start of December," he said.

"If that wasn't enough we also have the Ezio Collection, so for those consumers who need a taste of Assassin’s Creed every year--and we know there are a huge number of people--they will still be able to purchase a great triple pack which covers the most loved period of Assassin’s Creed."

In February Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot confirmed a mainline Assassin's Creed title would not be released this year. This provides its development teams time to "[take advantage] of all the new technologies."

In a follow-up interview, Guillemot said the new Assassin's Creed isn't guaranteed to launch in 2017 and, instead, "it will be back when it's ready."

"What we saw in the development of the next [Assassin's Creed] was that we had an opportunity to take it to another level," he explained.

"So we said we'll take all the time it takes to make the experience fantastic. It was feasible because we have other games. There's a huge potential in this game to revolutionise the IP, so we said, 'Let's make sure we change our model so we have more time and that we can bring back a greater experience.'"

Watch Dogs 2's release date has been confirmed as November 15, when it will be available for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The PC version launches on November 29.