For the first time in a very long time, there was not an Assassin's Creed game released this year. The move was made by Ubisoft who felt they needed more time to re-invent the franchise. Yves Gullimot spoke recently to Gamespot and implied that "time to re-invent" may extend past 2017...
"What we saw in the development of the next [Assassin's Creed] was that we had an opportunity to take it to another level. 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'."
When asked if he could confirm that there is no set date for the return of the franchise Gullimot said...
It will be back when it's ready. That's when we feel we have something there.
The good news is we aren't going to see an Assassin's Creed companion game to the upcoming movie with Michael Fassbender. As cool as that concept sounds, I would imagine it would be as most movie tied games are and be a jumbled mess...which as of lately would just make it an Assassin's Creed game.
Let's not forget the quality of the franchise and what it's given us when they do things right! The Ezio Auditore series was phenomenal, as was Black Flag. It's also a little drawn out and may need something to freshen the series up a bit.
I, for one, am glad they're taking a time out and hope to see them return with something that will make me remember how much I used to love these games.
