Ubisoft puts nine studios on Assassin’s Creed IV

Ubisoft today officially unveiled Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, which is in production at nine studios.

The game, which has been subject to leaks since last week, is in development at Ubisoft Montreal, as well as eight other support studios, including teams in Annecy, Bucharest, Kiev, Quebec, Singapore and Sofia.

Nine studios is possibly the largest number of studios Ubisoft has committed to a project, however, it is not uncommon for the publisher, which is increasingly spreading development across its many studios.

For example, Far Cry 3 was developed by over five studios, with different levels of involvement, from art asset creation to full multiplayer development. You can read about how one of Ubisoft’s studios played a crucial role in Far Cry 3’s development in the March issue of Develop magazine.

Black Flag is a pirate game, and its development teams’ aim to create an ‘authentic’ pirate experience, and it will feature real life historical figures, including the legendary Blackbeard.

The game is open world and Ubisoft promises seamless transitions throughout the game, from jungles to ruins, towns and from ship to ship. Player scan also swim underwater for the first time to seek buried riches.

There will be 50 different areas to explore in total. Ship customisation will also be crucial to reach some areas of the game.

In the Assassin’s Creed timeline, Black Flag actually predates Assassin’s Creed III as you play as Edward Kenway, the grandfather to Assassin’s Creed III’s protagonist Connor.

Assassin’s Creed IV is due to launch in October this year for PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Wii U and possibly the next Xbox, too.

This story originally appeared on our sister site MCV