Assassin's Creed III

Assassin's Creed III is an upcoming historical action-adventure open world stealth video game being developed and published by Ubisoft for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii U,and Microsoft Windows. It will be the fifth major installment and the third numbered title in the Assassin's Creed series. The game is set for worldwide release for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, beginning in North America on October 30, 2012, with a Microsoft Windows version following on November 20, 2012. A release date for the Wii U version is yet to be announced as the console's own release date has not yet been confirmed. Ubisoft has said that the game will be bigger than any of its previous installments.

The main portion of Assassin's Creed III will be set before, during and after the American Revolution from 1753 to 1783, featuring a new protagonist: half-English and half-Native American, Connor Kenway, birth name Ratonhnhaké:ton (pronounced "Ra-doon-ha-gay-doon"). In addition to the historical period, the game will also feature the "present day" setting, where series' protagonist Desmond Miles must endeavour to prevent the 2012 apocalypse, as his story will develop and then reach a conclusion. Players will also experience more Desmond than in any previous titles.

Work on Assassin's Creed III began in January 2010 (almost immediately after the release of Assassin's Creed II) by a senior team of Ubisoft developers. The title has been in development for 3 years and has the longest development cycle since the first Assassin's Creed. When Ubisoft first revealed Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood in 2010, as new details came to light, there was some confusion within the gaming community as to whether this would be Assassin's Creed III. According to the developers, Brotherhoodwas not Assassin's Creed III, and the third installment will not star a "pre-existing character." Ubisoft Montreal's developers stated in their interviews that Assassin's Creed III will be released eventually.

Jean-François Boivin of Ubisoft also stated that each numbered title in the series will introduce a new lead character and a new setting. Patrice Désilets, former series' creative director, said that the series has always been planned as a trilogy. He also commented on the story of Assassin's Creed III, saying that it will focus on Assassins' quest to prevent the end of the world in 2012, and their race against time to find temples and Apples of Eden built by "Those Who Came Before". Desmond will be searching for clues as to the locations of these temples, by exploring memories of one (or more) of his other ancestors.

In October 2011 Alexandre Amacio, creative director of Assassin's Creed: Revelations, announced that the next installment of the franchise was to be released before December 2012, however, Amacio himself would not be directing the game. This comes from the idea that Desmond Miles, the modern day protagonist of the series, was to finish his tale by December 2012. Amacio said that gamers should not have to play a futuristic game after the time period in which it is set.