Rumor: The Next Assassin’s Creed Game May or May Not be Subtitled “Black Flag,” Include Pirates [Updated]

A leaked promotional poster and screenshot suggest an upcoming announcement for the next game in Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed franchise.

An anonymous tipster sent Kotaku a photo of a promotional poster with the title, “Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag,” set below art depicting a hooded assassin attacking two pirates aboard a ship. Multiple sites are reporting the poster was drawn by artist Todd McFarlane, who has previously worked on Assassin’s Creed 3 figurines.

The Kotaku tipster says the poster will appear in stores on Monday, March 4, the same date Polish website PS3Site reports a press embargo lifts. The PS3Site post was taken down at the time of this writing.

Adding to the rumors, UK-based gaming outlet MCV Tweeted last Tuesday it was invited to an Assassin’s Creed press event on Feb. 27. If true, it’s likely the press will sign a non-disclosure agreement, a contract used by public relations to prevent the media from releasing information about the event until a set date.

An unconfirmed screenshot (above) of the game, taken from a third-person perspective, much like the Assassin’s Creed games, was posted by Examiner. Update: The game is currently running on an Xbox 360, but will also appear on the PlayStation 4 and the next Xbox, according to the report. Darby McDevitt’s LinkedIn profile lists “unannounced stuff,” under his role as lead scriptwriter for Ubisoft Montreal, which Examiner reports is Assassin’s Creed 4.

I’ve contacted Ubisoft about the rumors, and will update the post if I hear back.

Earlier this month, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot announced that another Assassin’s Creed game, featuring a new protagonist and setting, will launch in the company’s fiscal 2014 (April 1, 2013 to March 31, 2014).

Reddit user photoacoustic said he caught a glimpse of a logo for “AC4: Black Flags,” (plural!) during a powerpoint presentation sitting behind a woman on a plane. The game is aimed to release holiday 2013, according to the slide he saw.

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Judging from the careful (sourceless in some cases) reporting, and general reaction by the press, it seems likely they know about the game, and are not allowed to talk about it yet.

VG247’s Patrick Garratt complained about NDAs on Twitter as the leaks came out, which was immediately retweeted by Polygon reviews editor Arthur Gies. Gies also Tweeted that three San Francisco press events occur tomorrow at the same time, one of which could be Ubisoft’s.

It’s probably safe to assume we’ll know about a new Assassin’s Creed game next Monday.

Source: Kotaku, PS3Site, MCV Twitter, Examiner, LinkedIn, Reddit
Image credit: Examiner, Kotaku