Before Assassin’s Creed IV’s release, Ubisoft’s calls to investors were full of apologetic language like ‘transitional console period’ and ‘market uncertainties’. But in the event, Black Flag was so good that not even a lacklustre new Xbox was going to stop everyone from being a pirate.
Assassin’s Creed IV has sold 11 million copies, said Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot in a financial call yesterday.
That’s just a million more than Assassin’s Creed 3 shifted two years ago. Untroubled by new consoles, AC3 sold better than expected – providing frontier parkour to a 70% larger audience than that AC: Revelations served.
Far Cry 3 has now sold double the number of copies reported in early 2013 – over nine million, at last count. You’ll remember VHS sci-fi spinoff Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon was bought enough times to make Ubisoft “very happy”, and Ubisoft now think they have a “thriving franchise” on their hands.
As such, their explicit goal for the newly announced Far Cry 4 is to ensure it’s one of the top 10 best-selling games of the year – and it doesn’t come out till November.
Far Cry 4 has elephants and a Vaas-alike in a pink suit. Beat that, historically accurate rendering of Paris. Amirite?
Ta, IGN.