It seems we got caught up in the misinformation just like most everyone else. There's no official confirmation as of yet, but an increasing number of news pieces are reporting that the “next Assassin's Creed” announced by Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot will in fact be a standalone game. Think of something along the lines of Halo 3: ODST.

We, like many other news outlets, reported earlier today that Assassin's Creed III will see Assassin's Creed II's protagonist Ezio return to Rome, a locale visited briefly towards the end of that game. However, PC World's Matt Peckham is among the many now reporting that Guillemot's comments do not refer to Assassin's Creed III. “No, it's not Assassin's Creed 3 (sic), a game we probably won't see for a while yet, and one in which we're due to play primarily as bartender-turned-super-gymnist (sic) Desmond (as we've long expected),” he writes. “For the Ezio followup, think more along the lines of Assassin's Creed 'two-point-five'. Still, clearly more than an expansion (it'll be a standalone title).

However, he also reports that the multiplayer component previously attached to the final game in the trilogy will, in fact, be introduced in the upcoming game.

We might be getting in a little too soon with our correction, but the evidence is mounting. In Game Console's defence, we weren't alone in getting the wrong end of the stick with this one!